A Space Odyssey from Beyond the Stars
by ClockwerkOrange
Summary: Zim leaves Earth with Dib as a stowaway and embarks on a space adventure that will change him forever from Invader to Freedom Fighter. Tak and Zim, enemies, must deal with their new lives, each other, and a common enemy that just can't seem to quit. ZATR.
1. The Beginning of the End

Mip was a secretary working on the Irken homeworld of Irk. She decided that, since there wasn't that much work to be done, she would listen to some music. She put on her wireless earphones and turned on the radio embedded in her PAK. The first station it came to was Radio R, the pirate radio station of the Irken Freedom Fighters battling against the "harsh oppression" of the Empire. For a misfit gang of space "freedom fighters", they had good taste in music.

The song that had been playing eventually faded to silence, but the DJ didn't speak for a few seconds. Then, there was the sound of someone inhaling.

"Are you doing something dirty?" the DJ asked quietly.

Mip rolled her eyes. It was DJ Spearmint, who always played the music around this time of day. She was very, very strange.

"Are you doing something... that your superiors don't know about?" the DJ continued, quieter still.

Mip fidgeted.

"Are you... breaking... the law...?" There was a pause. Her words were barely audible. "Are you... breaking... the rules?"

Well, she was listening to this when she wasn't supposed to...

"Great! This is DJ Spearmint beaming the tunes directly from the flagship of the noble resistance! We bring the music, and the power, to the people!" Spearmint shouted. "Are you on the Homeworld or surrounding space? Are you listening to this?"

Well, yeah. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to hear DJ Spearmint say that.

"Spectacular! The next piece of music is coming right up after this. Remember, if you're tired of your life working for the tyrannical Irken Empire, join us! Fly down to sector twenty-six outside of Irk's solar system and hail the flagship. I'll be waiting for you to show up, and so will Captain Quent, noble leader of the resistance!"

Mip reached back to her PAK to switch it off. She would be leaving work soon, and she didn't need to be caught during the last half hour there…

"Oh, and..." Spearmint began quietly, "Think of me when you come."

She guffawed, and reached to turn it off, but then...

"What?" DJ Spearmint asked. There was some whispering, and then a siren went off.

The secretary paused and waited.

"Uh... There's some bad news, listeners! Um..." she trailed off. "Uh, yeah. We're under attack. I'll get back here for more DJ-ing in a little while if we all don't die. In the meantime, here's another song."

She switched it off.

_Three Days Earlier…_

"Bad news, GIR." Zim walked into the room.

"Yay!" GIR shouted.

"GIR, bad news is bad."

"Oh." GIR cocked his head. "Yay!"

"Why do I bother…? ANYWAY!" Zim shouted. "Your rubber piggy collection mysteriously caught fire and has melted."

GIR's eyes widened. "Yay!"

"You took that well," Zim commented. "Also! I have some good news, too. And stop saying 'yay'."

"Woo!" GIR yelled.

Zim shot GIR a glare and sat on the sofa. "The Tallest have invited me to an extremely special event!" he explained.

"Why's it special?" GIR asked.

Zim chuckled. "GIR, it's always special when the Tallest invite you."

"_Or _you don't know why," GIR commented.

Zim grimaced. GIR grinned.

"It matters not!" Zim yelled. "I am sure it will be special if they had to call on the great Zim!"

"When do we _go?_" GIR asked.

"We depart immediately after I complete Skool today," Zim replied.

"Ooh. You're late, by the way."

Zim chuckled. "Ah, GIR, don't be ridiculous, I have plenty of…" he looked at the clock. "Oh." He began to scream.

_At Skool…_

"Good morning, class," Ms. Bitters greeted. She rubbed her hands together. "Although, why it is 'good' escapes me. All I can see is a miserable group of _doomed _students."

Zim sighed. He had been on Earth for five years, and was now in High Skool. He had been free of Ms. Bitters for four of those five years. However, two years ago she had become a High Skool teacher. Also, for the past five years, not a single one of his _ingenious _plans had actually worked. Rather than be discouraged, he continued to try, albeit a bit less often, to conquer Earth as one of the last few Invaders from Operation: Impending Doom II. The other Invaders who were still having trouble had only been kept from succeeding by the efforts of an anti-Irken Empire resistance faction. Zim hadn't been adversely affected by them, but he would still fail on a regular basis.

_Because of Dib._

Zim saw him in the corner of his eye. He hated him. He hated him _so much._ He would have conquered this filthy rock _years ago_ if not for _him. _But, he would not give up. He would continue until he succeeded, and the Tallest would be so proud…

Zim snapped back to reality when the lunch bell rang.

"Enjoy your 'food'," Ms. Bitters muttered, using the hand gesture for quotation marks.

Upon arriving at the cafeteria, Zim took position in the line, grabbed a tray, and waited for his turn to have industrial grade elephant poison ladled to him. Zim maintained a dead expression and sat at his usual, empty table. He sat the tray on the table, poked the goo twice with his spoon, and then leaned back in his chair while all of the other students began to eat their disgusting lunch. He looked over and saw Dib and his sister Gaz sitting at _their_ usual table. Gaz had been promoted to Middle Skool in lieu of her last year of Elementary Skool because of her extraordinarily high grades. If only her attitude matched her Skool performance. She was hunched over in her seat, furiously playing her Game Slave 5, which had been released just a few weeks ago. It was praised for stunning visual effects in a hand-held gaming console, as well as proving its title as the longest running series of consoles by the same name.

"Gaz." Dib shook her shoulder.

"This better be good, Dib."

"I was going to tell you earlier today, but you were playing that game thing…" Dib began.

"I'm still playing it."

"Yeah…" Dib cleared his throat. "Anyway, I intercepted an alien transmission being sent to Zim! He's leaving for some sort of meeting after Skool today."

"And I care why, exactly?" Gaz asked, still button-mashing.

"Um… I don't know."

"Maybe that's because I don't."

"But, Gaz, don't you see? I could sneak on Zim's ship and investigate the aliens' defenses, do research, take pictures… and then no one would be able to say that I'm crazy ever again!" he began laughing maniacally.

"Um, yeah, or… you stowaway on his ship and never make it back and die in the cold expanse of space," Gaz muttered. She grinned. "Actually, scratch that. It sounds like a great idea."

"You know, Gaz, sometimes I wonder why you're so mean."

"Sometimes I wonder why your head is so huge," Gaz shot back.

"My head's not big!" Dib yelled, clutching his _massive _noggin. "Anyway, I just know that people will believe me if there's some photographic evidence."

"Whatever you say, Dib."

_After Skool..._

"GIR!" Zim shouted. "Hook the snacks up to the Voot and get in. I'm leaving in one minute, with or without you!"

"Okay!" GIR shouted. He hooked a massive, multi-portion crate to the Voot Cruiser and hopped inside.

"This is my chance…" Dib muttered to himself. He walked up, opened a compartment, and climbed inside. "Wait…" he said quietly. "Is there going to be any air in this box?"

There was a rough jarring as the Voot took off.

"Zim, are you leaving on time?" a voice asked over the radio.

"Who is this?" Zim shouted.

"It's me. Red. You know. Leader of the Irken Empire," Red answered.

"Oh. My Tallest!" Zim screamed, saluting.

"Yes, yes, just try not to crash into anything on the way to the Massive… I'm sending you our coordinates now," Red muttered, and then yelled at a crewman to send the coordinates.

"You know, Red, maybe we _should _let him crash into something," Purple whispered.

"What was that, my Tallest?" Zim asked quizzically.

"Oh, uh..." Red cleared his throat. "Nothing, Zim."

"Toodles!" Purple yelled.

The transmission went dead.

"Hi!" GIR yelled.

"Silence, GIR."

"Hi!" GIR repeated.

"GIR! What have I told you about disobeying orders?" Zim asked with a glare.

GIR stared blankly at him. "Hi!" he repeated again, waving.

Zim's eye twitched. "GIR."

GIR continued staring. "Yep?"

"Stop saying 'hi'."

"Okay." GIR sat back and stared forward with a blank expression.

Zim did the same and continued flying the ship out of Earth's atmosphere.

"Hi," GIR repeated.

"GIR!"


	2. The Unerring March Toward Doom

_The next day…_

"Soooo…"

"Yes, GIR?" Zim asked, looking ahead as he flew through the infinite darkness of space.

"What about Skool while you're away?"

"Well, I called and said that I was moving to Antarctica for wilderness training."

"Neat," GIR said. "Hey, what's that pink dot?"

"That, GIR, is the Massive!" Zim shouted. "We're almost there."

Off in the distance, the pink dot steadily grew larger until the Irken logo was visible on it, and then it started to take shape. The Voot's communicator started blinking. Zim tapped it.

"This is the Irken flagship, the Massive. State your business," a crewman ordered.

"It is I, Invader Zim!" Zim shouted. "I was called here by the Tallest!"

"Uh…" there was a pause. "Oh, yeah! Zim. Sure. You are cleared for docking on the _Squish._"

"The _Squish_?" Zim asked.

"Yeah, it's the mildly large purple ship. I'll send your autopilot directions."

"We have an autopilot?" Zim quietly asked GIR.

A panel on the Voot started blinking, and then showed Irken text claiming that the autopilot was on.

"Yep," GIR replied.

The Voot Cruiser flew past the Massive, turned down, and flew into the landing bay of a smaller, purple ship.

The Voot's engines slowly died down and the ship came to a rest on a spot with a short, elevated walking area to a long, elevated walking area that connected to various metal doors. The landing bay had many different ships landed there, all armed for a serious battle. Many Irken soldiers and pilots were walking around, and a few ships were taking off and landing. Zim and GIR climbed out of the Voot Cruiser and landed on the metal floor.

"Welcome to my ship, _Invader..._" a cold, female voice called. It was an Irken, and she was walking up to Zim. She was tall. _Very _tall. Almost as tall _as the Tallest _tall. She was wearing a black shirt that looked like a generic Invader uniform with grey stripes, with matching black pants. Also, oddly, she had white gloves and boots. She had a badge on her shirt showing that she held the rank of captain.

"Thank you!" Zim shouted. He saluted.

"Yes, very nice… I am Captain Zie, and this is my ship," she smiled widely, showing strange, razor-sharp pointed teeth instead of the usual Irken zipper-like ones. "At ease."

Zim's eye twitched when he shook her hand, and he noticed a thin, diagonal scar under her left eye.

"How'd you get that scar?" Zim asked blankly, trying to wrestle free of her oddly strong grip.

Her smile faded. "One of my soldiers tried to kill me. He missed…" she drew in a harsh breath. "I didn't."

GIR bounced up. "Hi, scary lady!" he screamed.

"Zim!" Red called, floating up.

"My Tallest," Zim and Captain Zie greeted in unison.

"Hi!" GIR yelled.

"Hello," Red returned. "Anyway…"

"My Tallest," Zie whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder, "_This _is the sacrificial lamb you send me?"

"Yeah," Red muttered. "Something wrong?"

"I was expecting someone a bit… _Taller…_"

"Could you move your hand?" Red asked, sheepishly brushing her hand off. "You freak me out."

"I have that effect on people," Zie replied, flashing another pointy smile.

Red looked mildly ill. "Yes, well..." he paused. "Zim!"

"Yes, my Tallest?" Zim asked, saluting.

"Yeah, uh…" Red scratched his head. "You and a few other _valued Irken soldiers_ are going to launch a surprise attack on a few horrible resistance fighters who would dare to oppose our great empire!"

"Yay!" GIR yelled.

"In fact, here they come right now!" Red squealed, gesturing to a group of three Irken soldiers.

"This is Squig," Red said, pointing to a short, chubby Irken male with pink eyes.

"And Mik…" he pointed to a short, dangerously thin female with blue eyes.

"And Tak! I think you've met before…" Red muttered.

"Tak!" Zim shouted.

"Zim!" Tak shouted.

"Uh. Sorry about shooting you into deep space," Zim said sheepishly, chuckling.

Tak glared.

"Right!" Red yelled. "You have been selected for your undesirability…" he cleared his throat. "I mean… um… your greatness… level. So… get those resistance people."

The group, handed a piece of paper with a number for a ship on it, started down the metal path to get to their private quarters on the _Squish _in preparation for tomorrow's mission. GIR followed closely.

"It's a shame, really. Tak had such promise." Zie sighed. "It's a shame she had to run away like that. Laws aren't there to be broken."

"Why are you talking to me?" Red asked quizzically.

"Because."

"Well… I'm leaving," he muttered.

"Fine, _my Tallest…_"

"You know, Zie, you're very tall," Red commented.

"Yes, I am."

"I bet you'd be next in line to be an Almighty Tallest…" Red chuckled. "Funny how life works, huh?"

"Oh, I know, _my Tallest…_" she muttered bitterly as Red floated away, whistling. "_I know…_"

_The next day…_

"_WAKE UP, IDIOT!_" Tak screamed in Zim's face.

Zim jumped out of his bed, crashed on the floor, and covered his head with his hands.

"I don't know about _you, _Zim, but I know there's something fishy about the mission that Red gave us," Tak muttered, pacing back and forth in Zim's temporary room. "I broke the law - I ran away, and they didn't punish me. Then, they give me this mission out of the blue. Four Irkens to fight a fleet of resistance fighters?"

Zim yawned and stood up. "So? I'm sure they… they have faith in us…?"

"They want us to _die, _Zim!" Tak screamed. "They want to use our deaths to their advantage, too!"

"How so, _Tak?_" Zim asked bitterly.

"They want to sacrifice us to sway public opinion away from the resistance!" she shouted, shaking Zim's shoulders roughly. "I don't know if you keep up with Irk's day-to-day matters, but people have finally realized that being tall doesn't account for much!"

"You speak crazy-talk," Zim muttered.

"Zim, you're a complete idiot. I hate you _so much," _Tak muttered. "Why would I lie?"

"Uh, because you think I'm a complete idiot, and you hate me 'so much'?"

"That's not the point, _stupid!_" Tak screamed, and smacked Zim once on the head. "If we go, we die. If we don't go, they'll make _sure _we die!"

"I don't know. The Tallest have always been pretty nice to me," Zim noted.

"They sent you to a faraway planet to get you out of their way. Your mission is a lie. They didn't help you when you were sent to Foodcourtia, and they've finally decided to get rid of you once and for all."

Zim frowned.

"You know I'm right, Zim. Of course, you may be too stupid to believe me," she noted.

Zim turned away. "Please, go away."

"Zim! We're going to die!" Tak yelled. She grabbed Zim and turned him around.

"So?" he asked. He had a look of bitter defeat on his face.

Tak frowned. "What… what happened to you over the past five years?" she asked, taking a step backwards. "What happened to the inconceivably bold-to-the-point-of-stupidity Zim I used to hate?"

"He broke," Zim answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I see," Tak said blankly. "I'll… I'll just ask another member of our group, then…"

The ship's intercom beeped before she could leave the room. "Attention, crew members. The brave Irken soldier Squig tried to escape… Er, I mean… flew away a few minutes ago and was accidentally mistaken for an enemy ship. He was shot down. Let's have a moment of quiet remembrance for this brave, brave, brave, brave soul…"

"See?" Tak shouted.

Zim was seated on the bed, hands on his face. He was completely silent.

"We're all doomed, Zim!" Tak screeched. "Doomed, doomed, _doomed!_" She waited for Zim to say something. Eventually, she walked out and slammed the door in disgust.

Zim sniffled.

"Whee!" GIR screamed, popping out of the drawer of the nightstand next to the bed. "It was dark in there! Yay!"

**[Author's Note:**

**Thank you, Invader Kam, for Captain Zie's name. In addition, folks, I want everyone to realize how DREADFULLY DOOMTACULAR this story is. REALIZE IT! REALIZE IT, NOW!**

**Thank you,  
~ClockwerkOrange]**


	3. Evidence

_In the landing bay…_

Dib stumbled out of the then almost-empty crate of snacks that Zim had brought, and stood up. He was in the middle of a strange, deserted, alien spacecraft landing bay. He looked around, and then saw an elevator. He went for it, tapped the keypad, and the doors slid open with a quiet hiss. He walked in, and was greeted with some low-quality sounding elevator music. He pressed a button, and the elevator went up. It stopped, and the door hissed open as a tall, black-clothed Irken female with white gloves and boots entered the elevator. She stood next to Dib and began to whistle along with the elevator music. She looked down at Dib, then looked back towards the door. Then, she did a double-take.

They pointed at each other. "An alien!" they screamed in unison.

_On Tak, Zim, and Mik's ship…_

"So, Mik, what'd you do to get on the bad side of the Irken Empire?" Tak asked quietly as she continued to fly the ship through space.

Mik chuckled. "I accidentally _stabbed everyone on my ship to death…_"

Zim smiled. "Oh, is that all?" He shot a pleading glance toward Tak.

"When I snapped back to reality, there was blood _everywhere…_" she continued breathlessly. She rolled her eyes and licked her lips. "It was _bliss…_"

"Uh… uh… Tak?" Zim asked fearfully, still smiling widely. "Are we almost there…?"

"Is there any kitchen cutlery on this ship?" Mik asked nonchalantly.

"No," Tak answered.

"Then this will have to do…!" Mik whispered, pulling something out of her pocket.

Zim screamed and cowered in the corner as Mik pulled out… a squeaky toy that resembled a skeleton.

"Squeaky!" GIR shouted.

Zim pointed at the squeaky toy and continued shivering.

"Aw, you are so cute I could just maul you to death!" Mik said to GIR happily.

"Uh," Tak began, furiously keying commands into the ship's computer, "I think we're going to crash land into the resistance's flagship."

Zim looked out of the front and saw a massive ship coming into view.

"Hooray! Now I can die!" Mik yelled while squeaking the toy.

"Oh, great," Zim said blankly. "Can't you, I don't know, fly the other way?"

"I would if the Tallest hadn't had this ship's controls locked down!" Tak snapped.

The ship's communicator began to beep. Tak pressed it.

"This is the United Irken Resistance flagship, the _Rapture_. State your business, would you kindly?"

"Hello, _Rapture_, this is Tak from the Irken Empire about to crash land on your ship!" Tak shouted furiously.

"Huh?" a voice asked confusedly.

"What did she just say?" another voice also asked.

"_THEY'RE NOT STOPPING!_" someone screamed.

"Both of you, activate your environmental suits!" Tak shouted, leaping out of the command chair.

Mik, Tak, and Zim had a dull green laser-like shield appear over them from their PAK, and then cowered in the back of the ship, bracing for the impact. The ship became closer and closer.

_Wham._

_On the Squish…_

"What… what happened?" Captain Zie asked, hunched over in her captain's chair on the bridge.

"Uh… we lost contact," one of the crewmen muttered, clacking away at his keyboard.

"I… I know _that…_" Zie growled. "Did they flat line? I have to know."

"Their PAK's energy signature disappeared. That could mean that their ship crashed far enough into the resistance flagship, causing their signature to be muddled by the ship's energy signature… or, it could mean that they're dead," the crewman paused. "Of course, it could be both."

"I have to know if they're dead or not," Zie shouted, knocking her chair over. She spun around and faced the crewman. "Unless you can supply that information, keep your _fucking _mouth _shut!_"

"I'm sorry, Captain, I…"

"_SHUT. THE FUCK. UP," _she screamed. "You know what?"

"Uh… what?" the crewman asked, cowering in his chair.

Zie got uncomfortably close and bared her spiky pearly whites. "I'll find out myself. Clear a one-man ship for launch."

"Right. Authorizing," the crewman said, then paused. "You'll be dangerously close to the resistance flagship, you know."

"Of course I _know, _you _idiot!_" she shouted. She righted her command chair and sat back down in it. She took a deep breath and put her gloved hand on her forehead. "What about that… 'human'… that showed up?"

"It seems like he stowed away on that one Zim person's ship," a different crewman informed her. "He's in the brig at the moment."

"Interesting. I wonder if he knows anything… like, for example, if the Zim fellow had a plan…" Zie thought aloud. "He could prove to be very useful as a bargaining chip if they're still alive…"

She rolled her bright grey eyes. "Or, perhaps, I'm over thinking all of this. Maybe they're dead," she said sadly. "In which case, there's nothing to do… but, I have to be sure."

"I have… to be very, very sure…"

**[Author's Note:**

**Okay, this chapter was kind of short, but I'll definitely have a longer one coming up next..**

**Review or I'll kill myself.**

**~ClockwerkOrange]**


	4. Welcome to Rapture

"Captain, if you get close enough to the resistance flagship the interference will lessen and you'll be able to pick up their PAK energy signatures… if they're still alive, that is."

Zie interlocked her fingers, stretched them, and then tapped in a few commands on the keyboard built into her small, one-man ship. It was a customized ship with no official name. Several of them had been built for use by the _Squish's _crew. They had no weapons, but did have a very useful cloaking feature.

"_Cloaking activated_," the ships computer confirmed with a synthesized voice. "_Engaging energy signature search._"

Captain Zie continued flying through the pitch black darkness of space until she noticed the huge resistance flagship. It was camouflaged with a blue tiger pattern that blended in rather well with the nearby space. Well enough for her to almost crash into it, in fact. She corrected her direction and flew alongside the ship, searching the top of it for any signs of a crash. Her eyes darted back and forth through the ship's windshield, searching. She happened to look at a part of a large, long section of the top of the ship that had a ship-sized discoloration in it.

"I see," she muttered to herself. "It seems as though they have a system to repair damage automatically…?"

"_Target energy signature detected!_" the computer notified Zie.

"Really…" Zie purred, reading the monitor's output data. "They're all still alive… but I can't get to them right now."

Zie sighed, tapped in the coordinates for the _Squish,_ and switched on the autopilot. She leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath in the cramped space. Then, she sighed.

"_Damn it_."

_Elsewhere…_

"Zim!" a voice screamed, accompanied by a dull, bleary grey light that faded out as quickly as it showed up.

"_Zim!_" the voice repeated. The light rushed back foggily, then disappeared again.

"_Wake up!_" Tak shouted.

The light rushed back. Zim coughed, and pulled himself into a sitting position, leaning against the wreckage of their ship. He looked around. "What…?"

They were in a warm, green area reminiscent of a well-kept park. There were trees, benches, and small paved trails. They were crashed near a flowing fountain.

"What _is _this?" Zim asked. He looked around. The park seemed to be built in a small area on an infinite green plain, shooting out in all directions. The sky was blue, and fluffy clouds were drifting past lazily. The sun was bright.

Tak sighed, causing Zim to glance at her.

"I have no idea. We were in space, we crashed, and then we're here," she whispered.

Zim looked at the crashed ship. "What happened to Mik?" he asked. Then, after looking around, "And what happened to GIR?"

Tak grimaced at GIR's name.

Zim frowned. "Actually, what happened to your SIR unit, MiMi?"

"Well, while your idiot robot was screwing up my ship, MiMi was electrocuted," Tak growled. She pulled a thin, rectangular chip in a small plastic case out of her boot and flashed it to Zim. "This is all that's left."

"I see."

"What I need is a blank SIR unit that I can put this in," she muttered.

"Master, master! I saved the crazy lady!" GIR shouted, pulling an unconscious Mik out of the wreckage.

"Well, everyone's accounted for, so you can shut up," Tak growled. She sank to the ground and laid down on the grass.

"What are we supposed to do?" Zim asked confusedly.

"We're crashed in the middle of a park with no exits in any direction when we were supposed to smash into a spaceship!" Tak shouted, eyes closed. "What do _you _think we should do?"

Zim was silent.

"That's what I thought."

_A while later…_

Zim woke up and looked around. He hadn't realized that he had dozed off. Everyone else was asleep, and everything else was still exactly the same. Beautiful sky, green landscape…

"Oh, hi!" a sing-song voice called. "I was waiting for one of you to wake up."

Zim leaped up, spun around, and saw a tall, green eyed lady with a picnic basket in her right hand. Zim recognized her… where had he seen her before? She was a bit older than Zim, and she was wearing a uniform that Zim hadn't seen before. It was mainly green, and looked sort of like an Invader uniform, but it lacked stripes and didn't have the triangles where the sleeve connected to the torso portion of the shirt.

"Hey…" she said, carefully inspecting Zim's face. "You're Zim!"

"Uh… yes," Zim replied.

"It's me! Mint! You know!" she said. "I bet on you in a race, once. We met…? I gave you a sandwich?"

Zim remembered, suddenly. "Yeah…"

"Hah! That's funny. Want a sandwich?" she asked.

"Master?" GIR asked, running up. "Hi, green lady!"

"Wha…?" Tak asked, and then sprang up. "Who the hell is this?"

"Hiya! Hmm. You look familiar, too. Sort of," Mint muttered.

"Calm down, Tak, we can get information from her. Her name's Mint."

"Information?" Mint asked. "What do you wanna know?"

"First of all, where are we?" Tak asked suspiciously.

"That's easy," Mint began, "You're on the _Rapture._ Y'know, flagship of the bright and wonderful United Irken Resistance?"

Tak looked around. "Then why are we in the middle of… this?"

"Oh, the only real part of this place is this small little park area. The plains are computer generated onto the walls. The door's right over there," she said, pointing to where one of the trails ended abruptly. "The crew comes here all the time to relax. Fun place."

"Uh… okay. How come nobody came until now?" Tak asked.

"Well, I walked down here to check what crashed into the ship. Looks like it was you!" Mint chuckled. She saw Mik. "Gee, is she okay?"

"Oh, don't feel sorry for her, she probably would have killed you," Zim muttered.

"Oh."

"Well, come on, guys! Bring the unconscious one with you," Mint called, walking to the exit. "I'll introduce you all to Captain Quentin!"

Tak froze. "Captain… _Quentin?_" she asked.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Mint replied cheerfully. "Come on!"

Zim frowned when he saw Tak's expression. "Tak?"

She didn't move.

Zim sighed, and walked past the bubbling fountain. "Come on, GIR, try to bring Mik."

"Okie-dokie, Master!" GIR yelled. He began dragging Mik along the ground to the exit.

Zim looked back at Tak. "Tak, are you…?" Zim began.

"I'm _fine!_" she snapped. She brushed past him.

"Geez…"


	5. Welcome Home

"Oi, Capitán!" Mint called into her wrist-mounted communicator. "I'm bringing the crashed people up to the bridge, 'K?"

Mint, along with Zim, Tak, Mik, and GIR were walking up a short, blue hallway riddled with pipes and machinery. Mik had regained consciousness, and, miraculously, her homicidal tendencies had disappeared! Perhaps the crash jarred her brain enough to set it straight. Luckily, she still had her squeaky toy.

"Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. No. Uh-huh. Okay," Mint droned on. "Right-o, Captain."

They stopped at the door at the end of the hallway.

"Swish…!" Mint whispered theatrically as the door slid open. "Greets, Cap'n!"

Captain Quentin peeked from around the edge of the door, and then leaped in front of it. "Hello, Mint," he greeted in a mildly British accent. Zim raised an eyebrow. He was a strange character. He was much older than any of them, pretty tall, he had a slightly different, blue version of Mint's uniform, and one of his antennae was bent like he just jumped out of bed. He had dark blue eyes and a curious expression on his face.

"So, these are the intruders, hmm?" he asked quizzically. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. He looked the three over. "They're from the Irken Empire, that's for sure."

"Hiya!" GIR yelled.

"Hiya," Quentin repeated back. "Now that the formalities are over…"

He rubbed his chin in thought.

"I don't suppose they're here to join if they crashed into our ship," he commented. Then, he opened his eyes wide. "I just realized, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Captain Quentin, and this is my ship. Come in, there's plenty of room in the bridge."

Their group walked in after being herded inside by Mint.

"Um…" Tak began quietly.

"Yes?" Quentin asked, expecting more, but he was shocked once he looked at Tak. "Tak?" he asked uncertainly. He walked closer. "You're… alive?"

Her eyes swam with tears.

"I… I thought you…" he said quietly.

"Dad!" Tak cried.

"_WHAT?_" Mik screamed, breaking her silent streak since the crash.

Zim's jaw dropped. GIR showed off a wide smile, and Mint returned the smile, hands held together.

"Dad? What?" Zim asked. "Irkens are cloned in a cold, heartless, sterile facility!"

Mint chuckled. "Poor, poor, poor, innocent, innocent, innocent Zim…" she paused. "And what about before Irkens were cloned?"

Zim's expression blanked.

Mint whistled. "I like that innocence. It's cute. You're a little young for my tastes, but…" she chuckled and put a hand on Zim's shoulder.

Zim backed away with an expression of pure, unbridled terror smeared upon his countenance. "Back away! Back away, terrifying, hideous beast!" he shouted. "It is foolish to trifle with _Zim!_"

"Well," Quentin began, ignoring Zim's screaming, "I think explanations are needed."

"I agree, Cappy," Mint remarked.

"Right… I was leader of the United Irken Resistance for several years. I met Tak's mother when she joined up. We were a small group back then, with just this ship we're in right now and a few old Squiddy Fighters. The only reason I had this ship was because I used to be a captain for the Armada, but I went crazy for a few weeks and flew my ship away after reaching my boiling point for injustice…" he paused. "Tak's mother was…" he paused again.

Everyone waited expectantly.

"Tak's mother was lost during an attack by the Irken Empire. Neither of us ever saw her again," he muttered. "Tak was very upset. She refused to… accept that she was gone. I told her that she could leave the resistance if she wanted to, as long as she kept in contact."

Tak looked away.

"Well, she didn't," he continued. "Then, I found out that she went to the military training planet, Devastis, for training in the Irken military. Then, after an accident on the planet that caused a blackout…"

Tak shot a glare at Zim.

"…I didn't hear anything else about her. I thought she was somehow killed," he smiled. "And now I know she's fine."

Mik clapped slowly. "That's heartwarming. Really."

"Well, people, I think we should set up some sleeping quarters for you, that is, if you want to stay awhile," Quentin offered. "Perhaps you could help the resistance, seeing as you were all almost killed by the Empire…"

"I will," Tak said.

"I've got nowhere else to go," Zim muttered. "Seeing as, well, _I AM ZIM!_"

"I'm wanted on fifteen systems!" Mik squealed happily. "In fact, if they catch me, I'll receive the death penalty! Hooray!"

"What?" GIR asked.

"Fantastic. Mint will show you to your rooms," Quentin said.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Zim remarked.

"What was that?" Mint asked, leering at Zim.

"Nothing."

_A few minutes later…_

"Well, I think the easiest thing to do is place all four of you in rooms next to each other," Mint muttered in deep thought. "After all, these are close to the bridge," she paused. "Not many people actually live in this ship. The other Irkens and that Resisty group generally stay on their own ships and use ours as a base of operations if we're going to do something big, like screw up an Invader's progress or stop an attack by the Empire…"

Zim gave off a puzzled expression.

Mint saw that. "Oh, yeah, the only people on this ship are me, you four, the captain, a couple of actual resistance members and the command and maintenance crews."

"Interesting," Tak muttered. "Which one's mine?"

"Yours is right here!" Mint squealed, pointing to a door. "Zim, yours and GIR's is here," she said, pointing to the door next to hers. "And Mik, you'll be right here," she finished, guiding Mik to the door right after Zim's.

Zim opened the door to his room and peeked inside. GIR ran in, and Zim followed. "Ah, yes, GIR. It seems that things are finally looking up for Zim!" he shouted.

The room was nicely furnished. There was a black and white checkerboard pattern on the ground, as well as a large bed with a matching checkerboard bedspread. There was a nightstand next to the bed with a small, grey lamp on it and a radio. In addition, there was a couch and coffee table a little bit away from the bed positioned at a point where someone sitting on the couch would be looking out the large glass window into space. Next to this main section, there was a bathroom connected by a door and a small kitchen area that was openly attached to the rest.

"You know, Zim-…" Mint began.

Not knowing that she was there until she spoke, Zim screamed and dove to the ground.

"Yes, well, as I was saying-…"

Zim screamed again, now cowering on the floor.

"As… I… was… _saying…_!"

Zim curled into a ball and started whimpering.

"Yeah…" Mint said. "You gotta work on that." She cleared her throat and jumped onto Zim's bed while he was still on the floor. "_Anyway…_ I was just going to say that Quentin was arranging a fancy dinner tomorrow night. Oh, and the Masquerade Ball is the day after that."

"Mask-a-what-now?" GIR asked, taking time away from break dancing on the tiling.

"Yeah!" Mint squealed, and then stretched out on Zim's bedspread. "It's just another one of my fabulous ideas."

"Uh…" Zim squeaked, attempting to recover from his blast of terror. "What?"

"Uh, well, morale tends to dip down when you're fighting impossible odds against the largest galactic superpower there is," Mint explained sadly, "so I decided that the easiest way to remedy that would be to have a party every week!"

GIR screamed happily.

"But, it's not just _any _party!" Mint squealed, spinning in a circle. "Everyone will be wearing a mask, there will be Earth-inspired music, food, and entertainment that I just _fell in love with_ that time I visited," she paused, inhaled, and continued, "_and _resistance members like it because it's just _fun!_ Nobody ever did anything like this in the Irken Empire! While they're having snack breaks, we have super-parties!" She smiled, closed her eyes, and made a show of clutching her hands together over her heart. "I like to think of myself as a visionary," she proclaimed, but then frowned. "Nay! I am a _saint!_"

"Saint, huh?" Zim commented.

"Indeed," Mint confirmed. She popped a piece of gum into her mouth. "Oh, and," she paused to chew a little bit, getting the delicious minty flavor going, "The masks were custom-made to hide eye color and voice." She chewed some more. "Pretty nifty, huh?"

"Yeah," Zim muttered, still on the floor. "Pretty nifty."

"Well, I'll leave you to get acquainted with your new room!" Mint yelled. She looked at Zim's radio. "Oh, that reminds me! I play fancy Earth music every day on Radio R. Your radio's pre-tuned to it, by the way. I'm actually there about an hour every day, otherwise I set the music listings in advance. Just felt like you should know…" She leaped off the bed and skipped out the door. "Have fun!" she called, and then closed the door gingerly.

"GIR!" Zim shouted with authority.

"Yes, my master?" GIR asked, features flaring red.

"Take the rest of the day off," Zim suggested. He was now reclining on his new bed, yawning. "Just try not to kill anyone."

"Yes, sir!" GIR yelled, and then proceeded to continue break dancing.


	6. From Another Angle

Tak was lying in her room's bed, thinking about everything that had happened recently and long ago. Leaving the resistance, going to Devastis…

Tak pulled the covers closer. Her mother… who she barely remembered… she had always said to do what she thought was right. She couldn't remember her voice or even her face anymore. She couldn't remember anything except what she learned from her father's old stories and that one sentence, "do what you think is right". She turned and laid on her other side. Was what she did "right"? She just wanted to be normal. On one hand, she could have stayed and led a life as a freedom fighter and naturally born Irken.

On the other, she could have been a perfectly normal Irken serving in the Irken Military.

The choice had been obvious then. Everything was obvious _then._ Why wasn't it obvious anymore? She had tried to be normal – she would have been the best! But… but then _Zim ruined her life._

She frowned. If Zim hadn't caused the blackout on Devastis, she would be an Invader right now. She probably would have conquered her assigned planet already. She'd be famous, admired, and powerful…

So, it wasn't as if he _ruined _her life… he just made it a bit more difficult. More _complicated. _But, she was reunited with her only surviving family member, so that was good…

But, still! Now, instead of being the successful Invader, she was right back where she started – on the _Rapture_ in the middle of the blackness of space!

But, wait… was that where she should have been all along? Perhaps she was wrong from the start. And it… it wasn't right to try to steal Zim's mission. Even if it was rightfully hers, even if it was a lie, even if he was just sent there to get rid of him…

Yes… perhaps Zim didn't _ruin _her life. Maybe, just _maybe… _he saved it, or at least changed it for the better. She was surprised with that conclusion, but slowly accepted it. It felt… right. A life in the Empire would have been… pointless. Even if she was the best Invader ever, she might get a few medals and a nice pat on her head by the Tallest, and… what?

The Empire is _stupid._

A startling truth dawned on her.

_She _had been stupid.

It was funny, really. She and Zim were a lot alike. They both wanted to be Invaders, and they both had an event that kept them from really being one. She remembered that there was a saying that "Invaders need no love". Well, neither of them were Invaders, were they?

Wait. _Wait one damn second._ What the hell was _that?_ _What did she just think? Where did THAT come from?_

While she was angrily pondering this, the door to her room opened. "Oi, Tak!" Mint yelled. "I forgot to tell you a few things!"

"Fine… come in."

Mint swished in theatrically and sat on the end corner of her bed. "Mind if I sit?"

"You're already sitting," Tak said dryly.

Mint looked down and showed off mock surprise. "So I am!"

"What were you going to tell me?" she asked, pulling herself up into a sitting position.

"Oh, yeah!" she exclaimed. "I forgot to tell you about a few upcoming events on the ship."

"Events?" Tak asked curiously. She might as well humor her.

"Yeah. Your dad's going to be orchestrating a nice little dinner tomorrow, and he wants you to come. Also, as newbies, you're all required to run the Course," she added. "Ooh," she said. "I forgot to tell Zim that." She shrugged. "Oh, well. I'll tell him tomorrow."

"The 'Course'?" Tak repeated, ignoring her mention of _him…_

"Yeah, a while ago Quentin okayed an obstacle course to be built to keep the United Irken Resistance people on their toes. I _kind of_ hold the best time at nineteen seconds," Mint bragged.

"If you could do it in nineteen, I could do it in less," Tak muttered.

Mint put her hands on her hips. "Oh, really? How much do you wanna bet?"

"How much are you willing to lose?" Tak asked.

Mint burst into laughter. She actually wiped a tear from her eye. "Tak, Tak, uh…" She started laughing again. "See this ship? And all the other ships?" she gestured out of the window in Tak's room.

"Yeah."

"Who do you think paid for all those shiny, new ships flying out there?" she asked. "Who do you think pays for their maintenance?"

"Um…"

"I do," she whispered. "I'm a billionaire. I gamble all the time with millions. _Mere_ millions."

Tak guffawed. "So, why's a billionaire socialite funding freedom fighters?" Tak paused. "In fact, why are you here at all?"

Mint looked at her like she was being rude. "Tak, Tak, Tak!" She chuckled. "I was bored."

Tak stared at her. The only reason that the resistance hadn't been crushed before now was because this hyper lady in front of her was… bored?

Mint popped a piece of gum into her mouth and began chewing. "Mint, by the way," she said, chuckling. "My favorite…"

It was a little… horrifying. By being bored she could have, possibly, altered the course of history. That is, if the resistance made any real effect. But, still.

"Monies are worthless to me," Mint admitted. "I just kept accumulating more and more. The amount would fluctuate, what with my delicious gambling habit, but the end result is the same."

She got uncomfortably close to Tak. "I'm priceless," she breathed. Then, she started giggling.

"Lemme see," she said thoughtfully. "What can you put on the table that I can't already get…?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Tak said, cutting her off. "What do _I _get if I beat your time?"

"Hmm…" She scratched the back of her head. "I don't know. What do you want?"

Tak smiled. Genuinely. "I want a blank SIR unit."

"Really?" Mint asked. "Huh. Yeah, I can do that. But what do I get if you _don't_ beat my time?"

"I don't know. Anything that I can give you, name it," Tak offered. She didn't actually have anything except MiMi's memory chip, so, why not?

Big mistake.

"Mmm," Mint purred. "_Anything…_?"

Then, Tak realized the repercussions of offering _anything_.

"Tell you what, if you beat my time, I'll give you your blank SIR unit." She smiled widely, showing off her perfectly white zipper-teeth. "And if you don't, you have to kiss me," she informed her playfully, pointing to her left cheek. "Right here."

"Pfft," Tak replied, crossing her arms and looking off to the left. She glanced back to Mint. "Are you actually _serious?_"

"Dead serious!" she replied. "Humiliation is really, really fun stuff!"

"Hmph," Tak responded. "Fine, I'll meet your cute little challenge."

"Shake on it," Mint growled playfully, extending a gloved hand. Tak took it and shook her hand.

"Okay!" Mint squealed happily, darting up and off of the bed. "Good luck tomorrow! Sleep well, sweetums."

"Call me that again and I'll _tear_ your _eyes_ out, you-…!" she roared, but the noticed Mint had already left. She smashed her head onto her very, very soft pillow and willed herself to fall sleep.

She didn't _like_ to sleep.

**[Author's Note:**

**Well, writing at 10 o'clock really gets the creative goo… gooing? You know, when the going gets tough, the tough get gooing? Hee hee. Goo.**

**Geez, I need to lay off the Saramac Orange Cream Soda.**

**No**_**. NO! I WON'T GIVE IT UP! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!**_

_**BACK AWAY, SON! YOU HEARD ME, STAND BACK! IT'S TIME TO SLAM DOWN A COUPLE MORE OF THESE FREAKING SOFT DRINKS AND A TURKEY SANDWICH WITH SOME MAYONAISE AND SOME AGED SWISS CHEESE AND SOME OATMEAL BREAD AND LOOK AT FUNNILY CAPTIONED PICTURES OF CATS AND PLAY SOME VIDEO GAMES AND**_

**...**

**I'm normal.**

**~CWO]**


	7. Running Out Of Time

_On the _Squish_…_

"So, '_hyoomin_'," an Irken interrogator by the name of Yew said. "I'm going to ask you a few questions."

"No," Dib replied.

"Oh, okay…" he said, standing up to leave. "Hey, wait!" He chuckled and sat back down at the desk in the grey box of a room. "You're clever."

"Um… yeah…" Dib muttered. He struggled a little bit in his straightjacket.

"What is Zim planning?" he asked.

"Dunno," Dib replied. "You seen my camera?"

"Uh. No."

"I see."

"Anyway," he said, "I'm not sure that you're telling the truth!"

"Yeah, that's nice."

"I know," Yew remarked.

Dib rolled his eyes. Was he really being interrogated by _this _idiot? Wait. He _was _an idiot…

"Hey, interrogator," Dib said.

"Yep?"

"Could you help me out of this straightjacket? It's cutting off my blood circulation."

"Uh. Okay," he responded, and quickly took it off.

Dib grabbed him and pushed him into the wall, and after the impact he collapsed onto the floor unceremoniously.

"Great, now I just need to…"

Guards rushed in and grabbed him, and then slapped some energy based handcuffs on his wrists.

_On the _Rapture_…_

Tak looked at her small map of the ship, and walked to a sliding door that was supposed to have the Course behind it. She walked in and saw an observation booth with glass windows and a staircase that looked like it led to the start of the obstacle course.

"Welcome to the Course," a tall, dark red-eyed female Irken greeted unenthusiastically, turning around in her revolving chair to face Tak. "My name is Pepper, and I'll be overseeing your run today."

"I haven't seen you before," Tak commented.

"Maybe that's because I don't like _people_," Pepper snapped. "Are you ready to begin?"

"You look familiar," Tak said.

"I'm Mint's identical twin sister," Pepper recited, as if she'd said it a few hundred times before now. "Except for the eyes… and her incessantly sunny disposition. Oh, and if you must know, I'm the weapons expert on this ship."

Tak chuckled.

"What now?" Pepper asked. She had gritted her teeth like she knew exactly what was going to happen next.

"You're Pepper, and she's Mint. Pepper and Mint. Peppermint!"

Pepper had begun grinding her teeth. "You're _so_ clever. You know that?" she said. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. "I mean, you're _definitely _not the _nine thousandth _person to figure that out!"

"I'm gonna do the Course thing now," Tak replied.

Pepper sighed. "Good," she said, and turned back around. She chuckled. "My sister told me about your little bet."

Tak grimaced and walked down the stairs.

"I'll be speaking on the intercom," Pepper muttered. "You can pick up a handgun on the table at the start point."

Tak walked down the stairs and was greeted with a table with a few handguns on it and a metal door. She picked up one of the pistols.

"The door will open in five seconds, and the timer will begin…"

Tak gripped the pistol tightly.

"Five. Four. Three…"

Tak took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Two… one…" She paused. "Go."

The door slid open, and Tak rushed in. She was in a narrow hallway. She ran down the length of it, and then she was in a bigger room that connected to another. She ran into that room, and a metal cut-out of an Imperial soldier with a laser popped up. She fired once at it, and it fell down. She ran past, and was greeted with a room full of metal cut-outs. She fired as she ran down the room and, after eliminating the fake opposition, saw a ladder. She climbed to the top and reached a door. It opened, and she was in a final hallway. She ran hard, and crossed a line with 'finish' written on it in paint.

She looked up, breathing hard, and saw both Mint and Pepper walking out of the observation booth. Pepper grinned darkly and leaned against the booth's wall next to the door. Mint walked over to Tak and perfectly replicated Pepper's grin. She was holding something behind her back.

"Well, Tak, you tried so hard…" Mint said sadly.

Tak cursed under her breath.

"And you made the course in eighteen point six seconds! Congratulations, you beat my record."

"Hah!" Tak yelled.

"In your face, Mint," Pepper called. She waved to Tak.

Mint rolled her eyes and showed what she had behind her back. She was holding a blank SIR unit with a bright red bow tied neatly on its head. "Tada!" she squealed, handing it over.

"Thanks," Tak said hastily, accepting the robot. She tucked it under her left arm and handed the laser pistol back to Pepper.

"You did good. You should have seen Mint's face up here when she saw your final time on the monitor." Pepper chuckled. "I haven't seen her that miffed in years." She took the gun and placed it in a box near the exit. "You know," she said, turning back to face Tak. She cocked her head and bit her lip. "If you need any work done on that robot, just let me know."

"Thanks, I guess," Tak said. "I think I'm going to install MiMi's memory chip now."

"You're gonna do what?" Mint asked, walking up. "Oh," she said, piecing it together. "So you had a SIR and it broke, huh? That's why you wanted the blank one," she realized, sniffling a little bit. "That is so heartwarming!"

She started crying and gave Pepper a big hug. Pepper gave off an extremely annoyed expression and tried to struggle free. "Have fun with the robot," she muttered as Tak walked out the door.

"Mint. Mint. _Mint. MINT!"_

"Mhm?"

"Off."

_Meanwhile, back on the _Squish_…_

"So," Captain Zie said darkly, sitting in her captain's chair in the deserted, dimly-lit bridge. Deserted except for Dib, a recently-conscious Yew, and two Irken guards, that is. "Do you think it's okay to beat up my crew?"

"When they're stupid, yes," Dib rasped. One of the guards motioned to smack him again, but then Zie roared with laughter.

Her chair turned around from her view of the stars to face the group. "I agree," she said, and in a fluid motion she pulled out a pistol and shot Yew between the eyes.

"What the _fuck?_" the guard to the right of Dib shouted.

"You, cursing-guy, clean him up," Zie shouted.

"Y-you just killed him!" the guard said, dropping Dib.

"Clean him up," Zie repeated.

The guard looked from the spreading puddle of blood and Zie, who was now holding the gun at him. He sighed, and dragged the limp body out of the bridge, leaving a large streak of blood on the ground.

The other guard was still standing there, knees shaking. Dib was staring into Zie's grey eyes unflinchingly.

Zie laughed again. "Very impressive," she paused, thinking. "…Dib." She holstered the weapon and put her hand on her chin in thought. "I've always wanted a servant like you. It's too bad you're… 'hyoomin'." She stood up, walked over, and looked down at Dib. "Oh, well. I think I know what I'll do with you."

Dib spat on the floor in front of her.

Zie glared at him and struck him across the face, causing him to fall over and the guard restraining him to whimper. "Insolent little fuck," she muttered. "You just made my plans a few hundred times more painful."

She paused, letting a spiky smile spread across her face.

"For you, that is. Take him away."

"Where?" the guard asked.

"_AWAY!_"


	8. Tell Me Now

"All right, I'm having us all have dinner together to clarify all the recent happenings that… happened," Quentin said, filling his plate with snacks.

The attendees, Mint, Pepper, Tak, Mik, Zim, and GIR had roughly the same amount of delicious Irken snacks on their plate, and were all seated on the long table in the ship's medium-small-group dining room. Of course, Irkens don't really dine. They snack.

"Why am I here, again?" Pepper asked unenthusiastically. She munched on a cheese puff with a sour expression.

Quentin put his hands together and rolled his eyes, thinking. "Well, you've been locked up in your room for a couple of weeks now, and I figured you would want to…"

Pepper glared at him.

"…I dunno."

"Geez, Pep!" Mint said. "I know you really wanna blow people up in space, but live isn't all about killing people!"

"_Really_?" Pepper asked. "I had _no idea._" She chewed glumly on another cheese puff.

"Anyway," Quentin said, "I want to know what you've been up to before now, Tak."

Tak looked up. "What? Oh." She sighed. "Yeah, I went to Devastis. That's when _Zim _here…" She glared at him. "Blew something up and caused a blackout on half of the planet!"

Zim chuckled and sank lower in his chair. "I wanted a snack…" he said sheepishly.

Mint laughed and Pepper grinned. Mik was zoning out and bobbing her head in a consistent rhythm. Quentin raised an eyebrow and gave him a thumbs up.

"Strong work, Zim," Quentin commented.

"Why is that a good thing?" Tak said, exasperated.

"Aw, because if he didn't do that, you wouldn't be here right now," Quentin explained.

"Yeah, I know…" Tak muttered.

GIR was noisily slurping down some kind of drink.

"Well," Mik began.

GIR slurped again.

Mik raised an eyebrow. "Well…"

GIR slurped yet again, louder this time.

"_Well…!_"

_Slurp._

Mik frowned. "Hey, how can a robot drink…?"

"Yes, yes, very interesting. Weren't you insane?" Zim asked, arms crossed.

"Why, yes I was. However, our spectacular entrance seems to have jarred my _brains_ back into their proper working order," she said. "Afterwards, Pepper fiddled around with my PAK."

Pepper nodded.

"And, now, everything's just peachy!" she said. "No more violent strings of homicide for me."

"Violent strings of homicide?" Quentin asked, cocking his head.

"Eh," Zim said. "Not important."

Quentin's wrist communicator beeped. He tapped it, and nodded at the group. "I'm gonna take this." He cleared his throat. "This is Quentin. Etcetera," he said.

"We have a message from the Irken Empire!" someone yelled on the other end.

Quentin leaped up and struck a shocked pose. "What? What is it?"

"They say that they have a hostage, someone who knows Zim!"

Quentin raised an eyebrow and glanced at Zim. "Really? Who is it? Anyone we know?"

"The guy's name is… Dib."

"Dib? How did he get out here?" Zim asked.

"Who's Dib?" Mint asked curiously.

"Dib's this stupid human who thwarts my ingenious plans with his hideously large head," Zim said. Then, realizing how pathetic that sounded, he said, "He always plays dirty, though!"

"_Sure _he does, Zimmy," Mint whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I understand."

Zim grimaced. "He must have stowed away on my ship somehow… in my _ingenious_ snack box? _Why_ did I attach it to the oxygen tank…?"

"Well, we're going to rescue him…" Quentin said. "I mean, he's not a supporter of the Irken Empire and they have him prisoner!"

"Uh, I think _he's _coming to _us!_" the Irken on the other end said.

_Thud._

Everyone sat frozen except for Quentin, who _stood_ frozen.

"What… what was that?" Mint asked, breaking the silence.

"Come on, it was close!" Pepper roared, standing up.

"Stop, Pepper," Quentin said. "If we happen upon the area where something pierced our hull, then we'll be exposed to the vacuum of space. I suggest waiting a couple of minutes for the repair system to fix the breach before we start searching."

"_Hull breach detected. Locking down exposed area for repair,_" the onboard computer said over the intercom.

"See?" Quentin said.

"Hmph," Pepper replied.

A few minutes later, the computer beeped and stated, "_Atmospheric level normal. Areas 2A-2C repaired."_

"Excellent! Come, now!" Quentin said, and then skipped out the door.

"Your dad's weird," Mik stated to Tak.

"Yep," she replied.

The group curiously went down the hall and followed Quentin, who was stopped in front of a door.

"This is a warehouse for our onboard snacks," Quentin said. "It's a pretty big place, and I think this Dib thing crashed here."

"Right!" Pepper said, jumping in front of the door. She waved her hands around the sensor, waiting for it to open automatically.

"Yeah, no," Quentin said, typing in a password on the keypad. The door slid open.

"Oh," Pepper said.

Upon entering, the group saw a large metal sphere crashed in the middle of the warehouse. Quentin approached it and looked around the outside. He saw a button and pushed it.

A hatch opened slightly and there was a hiss as the pressure equalized. Water rushed out and onto the floor.

_An hour ago on the _Squish, _as told by a rather __**dim**__ crewman…_

Everyone always said that the captain was crazy or mean or 'sadistic', whatever that means, but I didn't think so. She just wanted to have everybody do things right, and when somebody messed up she would get awful sore at them.

I always listened to orders and did things right, so she was never sore at me.

One day she had told me to take a prisoner to one of the interrogation rooms, so I did. She told me to stay and watch, she said that I might learn something about people who (I'm trying to remember exactly what she said) 'disrespect their betters' and what happens to them as 'a natural consequence of their foolishness'.

She didn't interrogate him. I wanted to tell the prisoner that if he just said what she wanted him to say then he wouldn't get hurt anymore, but she said that she didn't want any information out of him. That made me kind of confused, because why would you take a prisoner to the interrogation room if you weren't interrogating him? But then she kept asking him about a few of those soldiers that went to attack the resistance, like someone named Tak. So I was wondering why she was asking questions when it wasn't an interrogation and she already said she didn't want any information.

I was standing there and she was starting to laugh really hard and I didn't see anything funny, but that could have been because the prisoner was being so loud and I didn't hear the funny thing on account of all the yelling. I wanted to ask the captain if she could interrogate him a little nicer because he was so noisy but then I realized that she said she wasn't interrogating him and I remembered that I shouldn't question the captain.

I was real confused and the prisoner was really, really loud, but then he said something that I didn't catch and the captain stopped laughing and started being real sore at him and didn't do the interrogation procedures anymore and started hitting him with her hands. I wanted to say that what she was doing wasn't going by the rules of interrogation, but then I remembered again that she said she wasn't interrogating him even though she was asking him questions before. Then she started hitting him real hard and he was quiet but she kept hitting him.

I got kind of worried when the doctors ran in with their white coats and said that she couldn't interrogate him anymore, but I figured that they knew what they were doing and I shouldn't question it.

I know why they say the captain's mean, now.

I really do.

_Back on the _Rapture…

"What…?" Quentin said, looking at the water on the ground. It wasn't that much, and he touched it with his hand. Where his hand touched the water started to hiss, and he shook it off. "Is…" he began quietly. "Is he in there?" He seemed a little afraid to open the hatch all the way.

"There must be something really, really bad in that water…" Pepper muttered, stepping gingerly out of the puddle.

Zim recalled the water on Earth as doing the same thing as this water…

Quentin closed his eyes and pulled the hatch up, and someone fell right out of the sphere.

"Hah!" the person shouted, leaping up. It was Dib, and he looked pretty damp. He had an oxygen tank with a tube that he had been using for breathing until now.

"Dib!" Zim shouted.

"Zim!" Dib shouted.

"Dib!" Tak shouted.

"Tak?" Dib shouted.

"GIR!" GIR shouted.

Pepper looked from Dib to the tainted water. "Am I the only one curious as to how he isn't dead?"

Dib chuckled. "The Irkens can't stand a few pollutants in water, but on my planet all of our water is as contaminated as this, so I'm immune! I faked the pain so they wouldn't, y'know, kill me. Good thing they gave me air."

"Your planet sounds horrible," Mik muttered.

"No, no! Earth is a fantastic place!" Mint squealed.

"Sure it is," Zim said.

"Well, brave 'Urf' beast, welcome to my ship!" Quentin said, shaking his sopping wet hand. Quentin's hand started to sizzle, so he wiped it on Dib's massive head. "Oh, and you and Zim are worst enemies, right?"

"Yep," Dib said, chuckling.

"Great!" Quentin said. "I hope you'll have fun on the ship and fighting for the noble resistance."

"Noble what? And where am I, anyway?" Dib asked, suddenly realizing that he didn't know anyone here except Zim and Tak, his two worst alien enemies, didn't know where he was, and didn't know why he was here.

"Well, I think that the Irkens expected you to be completely… melty, and thus sent you here as an evil example to the rest of the resistance!" Quentin said, stroking his chin. "I am Captain Quentin, leader of the noble and just United Irken Resistance, and we battle against the evils of the Irken Empire! Mint funds us, Pepper fights for us, Tak, who is my daughter, as well as Zim and Mik are our newest freedom fighters, and GIR is… GIR is… I dunno."

"Yay!" GIR screamed.

"So, anyways, welcome aboard," Quentin said, "and would you get that crazy acid water off?"

_Later that night… Well, it's not really night when you're in space… I dunno. Uh… When everyone was sleeping…_

"Captain Zie, I've confirmed that the human has crash landed on the ship, but apparently he was not affected by the acid and was merely pretending to be affected, like an Irken, to avoid actual pain or death."

The speaker paused for the furious screaming from Zie, the silence, and then Zie's new orders.

"I understand. I will remain on the _Rapture _and continue to monitor the target. You will not be disappointed."


	9. Masquerade

"Wake up, silly!" a voice yelled, jarring Tak from her sleep. "You overslept! The big fancy ball's already starting!"

Tak's eyes snapped open, showing her that Mint was hunched over her. "Get out."

"But _Tak…!_" she pleaded, pouting. "You _have _to go! You _have _to!"

"No, I don't. I was going to install MiMi's memory into the new SIR unit today, anyway…"

"Go, or I'll _make _you go," Mint warned.

"Pfft."

Mint's expression went dark.

"Ugh… fine, but can I leave early?" Tak asked.

"Maybe," Mint replied.

"Fine…"

"Oh, I've picked out what I want you to wear," Mint said, pulling her out of bed.

Tak sleepily stood and smoothed out her standard-issue United Irken Resistance flannel pajamas. She looked over to her closet and saw a gold-colored and sparkly-looking dress hanging on the door. "No," Tak commented.

"But this is a white tie affair! You have to have something fancy," Mint commented. Tak realized she was wearing a dark green dress.

"Okay, I'll wear it," Tak muttered.

"Great!" Mint squealed, and put on a mask. It was butterfly-shaped and green, with a matching green top hat. It looked kind of… _odd._

"Um. I have to wear one of those?" Tak asked.

"Well, I figured you'd want something else, so I came up with this," Mint said, and handed her a black mask that sort of resembled what a highwayman would wear while looting a few well-to-dos.

"What am I, a robber?" Tak asked while Mint fitted it on her face.

"'K, what color do you want?" Mint asked.

Tak stared at her blankly.

"For your eyes. Your eye color," she explained.

"Oh, yeah…" she said. "Um…"

"I think gold! Champagne gold," Mint said feverishly, pulling out a tiny remote. "This remote is encoded to that mask. You can adjust your eye color and change your voice slightly with it. Pepper designed it, actually."

"_Pepper_ did?" Tak asked curiously. "Your sister made something like _this?_"

"Yeah, well, if I beg enough she'll do anything," Mint said offhandedly. "Also, she's not actually my sister. We're _near clones._ Y'know, no natural parents."

"I see," Tak muttered.

"We were part of a top secret project for the Irken military, actually. Funny story; I might tell you about it sometime," she said, still configuring stuff with the remote. She looked from the remote to Tak's eyes. "Perfect. Now, your voice. I'm thinking something a little more… bubblyish, y'know?"

"What?" Tak asked.

"Just count to twenty."

Tak did so, and while she was counting her voice fluctuated in many different ways, until eventually she ended up with a voice a little more high pitched than her own.

"Excellent!" Mint commented. "Now, the last thing. Don't tell anyone what your name is. It's fun that way. I'll know what you're wearing, so I'll know it's you, but no one else will! That's the fun."

"I understand," Tak muttered.

"Great, then we're set. Get dressed, and I'll be back in a couple of minutes. I gotta talk to Pepper."

_At one of the hallways connecting to the ballroom, a little while later…_

"You know I don't like coming to these," Pepper muttered through her mask. She hadn't bothered to disguise her eyes or voice.

"But _Pepper!_" Mint said.

"I'm here this time, aren't I?" Pepper asked. "Nice color scheme, Tak. Matching eyes and dress. Looks good."

"Thanks," Tak muttered. "I feel stupid, though."

"Yeah, well, Mint forced me to come here, too," she said.

"Okay, are you two ready?" Mint asked.

Pepper and Tak nodded unenthusiastically.

"Great!" she said, and then opened the door.

Tak's new gold-colored eyes widened as she walked in. Everything was bright and golden… there were Irken freedom fighters in ornate dresses and white suits doing everything from drinking champagne to making small talk in little groups. Old Earth music floated around with its trademark crackly quality.

"Here, darling, here, she's the one I was talking with last week," an Irken female said, dragging a male up to Mint, Pepper, and Tak. "She's simply hilarious, darling, hilarious…"

"Hiya," Mint said to the newcomers.

"Oh, yes, you're the one who orchestrates all of this every week?" the male Irken asked gruffly, holding a flute of sparkling wine.

"Indeed," Mint replied.

"Well, say no more!" he said, chuckling. "Fantastic idea, if I may say."

"I'm going to tend to the music," Mint said happily to her group and the two Irkens. "You all have fun!"

After she was gone, the other two Irkens left as well. Pepper sighed. "Well, now we're stranded. Wanna go grab some alcohol?"

Tak chuckled. "I guess."

"I'll get it. You go sit over there, I guess."

Tak nodded, and weaved through the groups of attendees to sit on a bench off to the side of the huge ballroom.

"I never was one for dancing, myself," a male Irken about her height said, sighing. He sat next to her on the bench.

"Yeah, well," Tak said. She glanced at him. He had red eyes. She grimaced. "Zim, is that you?"

"Zim?" he asked, turning to her. "I'm afraid not."

Tak's expression softened. "Just checking."

"Can never be too careful. Who's 'Zim', hmm?" he asked curiously. "Ex-lover?"

Tak laughed out loud. "No, no. Nothing like that."

"Gotcha," he replied. "Well, it's been nice chatting with you, even if you did mistake me for someone else. Wanna talk again next week?"

Tak nodded. "Yeah, okay."

He disappeared into the crowd, and then Pepper came back with two flutes full of sparkling wine. She stuffed one into Tak's hand, and downed half of the rest in one gulp.

"Geez, Pepper. You're supposed to savor this kind of stuff," Tak said, gingerly sipping the drink. It tickled.

"Pfft. I was dragged here. At least I can get drunk," she muttered.

"This is great," Tak commented.

"Whoa, careful," Pepper warned. "You don't wanna drink too much of that stuff. That _isn't_ the normal Earth sparkling wine. Mint tweaked something about it… I'm beginning to have second thoughts about getting wasted off of it."

"Girls, I wanna introduce you to a few people," Mint said as she walked up to them.

Tak and Pepper talked to a few more people and drank some more of the fancy drinks to be drunk, and Tak eventually managed to be led back to her room by Pepper and Mint after it ended. Overall, Tak had a terrible time.

_On the Massive's bridge…_

"Wow, these donuts are delicious!" Purple screamed.

"I know!" Red shouted back.

_The next morning (Morning in space? WHAT?) in Tak's room…_

Tak pulled the sheet over her head, eyes closed. Her head hurt like hell, and she was trying to make herself go back to sleep. She was startled when she heard a yawn right next to her.

She opened her eyes to see Mint. In bed. Right next to her. She was smiling widely.

"Morning," someone else said. She turned. Pepper was right there, too. Grinning.

Her brain exploded.

"_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU… WHAT… WHAT IS…?_" she screamed.

"Don't tell me you don't remember," Mint said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She smiled wider.

"Oh, _I _remember," Pepper said. "I mean, I'm never going to forget."

Tak's brain continued exploding in a chain reaction of realization-goo. "_WHAT?_" she screamed. She pulled the sheet over her head again. "_I WAS DRUNK! YOU HAD NO RIGHT! WHAT IS THIS? WHY DID YOU…?_"

Mint started laughing. Pepper joined in soon after.

"_WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?_" Tak screamed. "_TELL ME NOW!_"

"Tak, calm down. We were just kidding. We staged this as a hilarious joke," Pepper explained. "GIR has already taken several pictures depicting your reaction. Whatever you think happened… didn't."

Mint was still laughing hysterically. She fell off of the bed and hit the floor with a dull thud.

Tak peeked out from the covers and saw GIR in green-dog form with an antique tripod camera. He waved.

"_DAMN IT!_" Tak screamed. "_IT WASN'T FUNNY!_"

"Yes, it was," Pepper replied.

**[Author's Note:**

**One of my friends made me do that. I swear. o_o**

**~ClockwerkOrange]**


	10. Shoot Her In The Back

"All right, this is it!" Quentin shouted. "I've called you all to the briefing room to tell you about a top secret plan that a few resistance leaders and I have been discussing for the past few weeks."

Zim, Tak, Dib, GIR, Mint, Pepper, and Quentin were all gathered around a table with a diagram of the Massive on it.

"Where's Mik?" Quentin asked, looking around. "Oh, well… doesn't matter."

"So," Pepper began, "what's the plan?"

"Next week, the Massive's weapons will be deactivated for one hour for maintenance. They will be completely unable to defend themselves during this time," Quentin said. "I don't even want to mention how many spies we lost in the discovering of this information."

"How many did you lose?" Zim asked.

"Four," Quentin replied. "Hey, I just said I didn't want to mention it!"

Tak rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, the only defense the Tallest will have during this time will be the other ships in the Armada. The power of our resistance fleet rivals theirs if you take the Massive out of the equation," he paused, then continued. "I suggest an all-or-nothing attack on the Armada."

Everyone stood silent for a moment.

"Yes. This is the chance that we in the resistance have been waiting for," Quentin commented. "In one week, we may be able to cause the downfall of the Irken Empire."

"Hooray!" Dib and GIR squealed in unison.

"Hooray, indeed," Quentin said.

_As the group was departing…_

"Tak, I need to speak with you," a voice called as Tak was walking down the hall to her room.

"Mik?" Tak asked. "Why weren't you at the meeting?"

Mik shrugged. "I had something to do."

"What?" Tak asked.

Mik cleared her throat. "That's not important. I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"I need you to pilot a small ship for me to meet someone."

Tak raised a non-existent eyebrow. "Why me?"

"It's someone I think you should meet."

Tak sighed. "Yeah, okay. I was going to _finally_ get around to installing MiMi's memory disk today, but…"

"That can wait," Mik said gruffly, then tugged Tak by the arm down the hallway. They stopped at an elevator.

"Lemme see… floor three, landing bay," Mik muttered as she walked in the elevator and pressed a button.

_On Mik's ship…_

"You still haven't told me who we're meeting," Tak muttered.

"It's a surprise…" Mik said with a grin.

"I'd still like to know," Tak said. "And these coordinates are getting a tad close to the Irken Armada at their current position… They won't notice us, though." There was a beeping sound from a panel, and she ran her hand across some of the controls. "We're being hailed… by the _Squish_?"

"_Mik? Mik, is that you? Did you bring her?_" someone said via the radio.

"What the hell is this?" Tak yelled.

"_Surprise!_" Mik shouted.

Tak turned around in her chair just in time to meet Mik's fist.

_Back on the Rapture…_

"Ah, Zim, I've been meaning to speak with you…" Quentin said as he passed Zim in the hallway. Quentin turned around and began walking with him.

"About what?" Zim asked. "What information do you seek from the mighty _ZIM?_"

"Yes, yes, very interesting - have you seen my daughter anywhere?" he asked.

"No," Zim said blankly. "The amazing and ever watchful Zim has not seen her since the meeting…"

Quentin smirked.

"Not that I was… _looking _for her or anything…"

Quentin chuckled.

"Silence!" Zim screamed.

"Yeah," Quentin said. "Okay."

"Speaking of, sort of, not really… where is the hideous Dib-beast?" Zim asked curiously.

"The human? He's now an official member of the Resisty faction of the United Irken Resistance under Lard Nar," Quentin said.

"Oh," Zim said blankly.

"Well, lemme know if you see my daughter anywhere, 'K?" Quentin asked.

"Okay."

_On the Massive…_

"_Donuts_… so _amazing_…" Purple whispered, clutching a box full of the sugary treats under a table.

"Purple? _Purple?_" Red screamed.

"Shush, donuts. You don't want him to overhear you," Purple cooed. "I want you _all _to _myself_…"

"_Purple! I know you stole the donuts!_"

_On the Squish…_

"Well done, Mik. Well done," Captain Zie muttered.

"Thanks. I'll be expecting for you to hold up your end of the deal," Mik replied.

"Oh, I will. But stay here for a moment," she said. "Tak? Tak, wake up."

Tak groaned in response, then eventually rose to her feet. They were on the _Squish_'s bridge.

"Hello, Tak," Zie said.

"Hey…" Tak said. "You're the captain who was talking to Red."

Zie bit her lip and gave Tak an odd look. "Yes," she said.

"Well, why did you have Mik bring me here? How'd you get her to, anyway?" she shouted.

"Mik is my personal agent, specifically sent to let me know what the resistance, and you, are doing."

Tak shot a glare at Mik. She smirked.

"Tak, I have a few things to tell you," Zie said with a soft expression. "Sit down," she suggested, and grabbed a chair that was next to a wall of monitors. Tak sat down on it cautiously, and Zie pulled up another chair to sit on.

"Well?" Tak asked. "Get on with it."

"Tak, my name is Zie. I am your mother," Zie said. Her voice betrayed her emotional attachment.

Mik gave off a shocked expression, and Tak stared blankly, shattered.

She recovered in a few seconds. "You're lying!" she shouted, standing up. Her chair fell over. Zie sat still and looked at her with a pained expression. "You're… you're lying! How do you even know my mother's name? My mother was killed during a raid by the Empire, and she would _never _have joined th-…"

"I led the raid," Zie said quietly.

Tak looked down at Zie silently, then slowly sank back into her chair.

"Father told me you died."

Zie chuckled. "No. No, he was probably too upset about me turning on him."

Tak flinched. "You betrayed him. Why?"

"I suppose we were in love… as much as Irkens can be in love," Zie muttered. "But he was weak. He couldn't ever accomplish anything without waiting _years_ for an opportunity where he had just a _slight_ advantage."

"But… but why…?"

"Why did I betray him?" Zie asked. "I was a spy. A spy that fell in love, and was betrayed by the pathetic way my Irken brain works. I never meant to, but I did."

"He's going to attack the Massive, you know," Tak muttered, then instantly regretted it.

"Really, now? That's funny, because so am I," Zie said with a smirk.

"You…?" Tak asked. Now she was _really_ confused.

"Yes, I've been plotting a coup d'état for a few months, now," she said.

"You're going to kill the Tallest…?" Mik said, taking a step back.

"Oh, dear, you probably shouldn't have heard that," Zie murmured. "Just keep that under your hat, will you?"

Mik nodded, and walked past them to the bridge's exit.

"Your name will be cleared, by the way! I keep my promises," Zie said.

Mik nodded again, and sealed the door behind her.

Zie sighed and brought her hand up to her wristwatch communicator. "Clear Agent Mik's name… but then catch her. If she runs, shoot her in the back."

Tak stared at her.

"What?" Zie asked. "She was going to squeal for sure."


	11. Reunions

"Tak, I understand that I wasn't there for you for several years," Zie said quietly. "And for that, I am deeply sorry."

Tak turned away from Zie, who was sitting in the pilot's seat of the small spacecraft.

"All I was trying to do was keep you safe. The Tallest wanted you gone, along with a couple of others. I managed to get Mik to help me… for a little while," she added. "However, it was all an elaborate plan to get the Empire to think that you were dead. You don't try to kill dead people."

Tak narrowed her eyes. Sure, it _seemed_ logical… but…

Oh, who was she kidding…? Her mother was alive - after all of these years.

"I have information that… _Quentin_ doubtlessly has already," Zie muttered. "The Massive's weapons will be down for enough time for me and my troops to fight our way to the Tallest… they won't even see it coming."

"And what do I do?" Tak asked.

Zie sighed. "I want you to _stay_ safe. I think you should stay with Quentin again until it's finished."

Tak frowned. "But… _Mom…_" she said, testing out the word. It felt… rusty.

Zie sighed again. "I think that you'll be safer on the _Rapture _than on the _Squish._ Besides, don't you have friends on the _Rapture_?"

Tak snorted, but then thought about that statement seriously. Zie was obviously trying to appeal to what she _thought_ her daughter was… but, in a sense, she was right. She could definitely say that Mint was her friend, albeit a strange, _strange _friend. Pepper was always nice to her, too. And Zim.

Without Zim, she wouldn't have been reunited with her father… or her mother.

Suddenly, a strange thought appeared in her mind.

"If you betrayed Father and returned to the Empire, why are you going to overthrow the Tallest?" Tak asked.

Zie was silent for a few seconds. "Well," she began. "I realized a few things."

When Tak saw no swift explanation, she pressed further. "Like?"

"Like… my time spying in the resistance made me start thinking," she said, rapping her fingers on the ship's dashboard. "It made me start thinking about how… _idiotic_ the Empire was. I'd rather be led by Almighty Tallest Miyuki, may she rest in peace, than the two stooges."

Tak flinched at the casual insult directed at the almighty leaders of their civilization. She was still Irken.

"They weren't always like this, you know," Zie muttered. "I've heard rumors. I've confirmed a couple."

"For example?" Tak ventured.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that Purple developed some sort of terminal illness – something that affected his mind, too," Zie murmured. "Something with his brain. The doctors couldn't do anything about it, even though they tried. Rather than bring good news, they even said that Red might develop brain issues, too. That made Red give up, to an extent. Sure, he'll go along with whatever his advisors tell him to do – oversee an organic sweep, give a medal, cut a ribbon – but he used to be… better." She cleared her throat. "In fact, I've heard that Miyuki was almost like a mother to him."

Tak was surprised. She'd never heard that before, but, then again, gossiping about the ultimate leaders of your race was generally frowned upon.

…And punishable by death…

"Anyhow," she said, "we're almost to the _Rapture._ I'll hail them so they don't, you know, shoot us down." Zie clacked away on the ship's keyboard for a few seconds.

"This is the _Rapture,_ state your business," someone muttered from the other end.

"This is Captain Zie, and I'm requesting permission to dock."

"Z-Zie?" the person yelled. There was a crashing sound, like they fell off their chair. "It's Quentin!"

"Oh, great…" Zie grumbled. "Listen, I'm just here to drop Tak off."

"Oh, _you_ had her?" Quentin said in a relieved tone. "Oh," he said. "That'll mean she's realized that I've lied to her."

Tak cleared her throat, very loudly.

"What was that?" Quentin asked.

Tak walked over to where Zie was sitting and bent over the dashboard. "_FATHER, I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU LIED TO ME!_" Tak shouted into the receiver.

There was a high pitched whine of microphone feedback. "Ow," Quentin stated. "Docking… permission… granted…"

The _Rapture_ steadily grew in size as their small ship neared it, and Zie skillfully flew it through the vacuum-resisting barrier, and into the landing bay. The ship hovered for a bit, and then came to rest on one of the platforms.

The side hatch on the ship opened upwards, and Tak and Zie clambered out and hopped onto the metal floor below.

Quentin dashed out of the elevator door near to where they were, and stopped before them, panting.

"How did you _get_ here so fast?" Zie asked.

Quentin panted for a few more seconds. "Ugh… I… I'm…"

"Interesting," Zie remarked. "Anyhow, I was just letting you know that I plan on overthrowing the Tallest. You're welcome to assist me…"

Quentin scratched the back of his head. "Uh… yeah," he stated. "I can do that."

Zie chuckled. "Same silly, awkward Quentin…"

"Does this mean you're staying, this time?" Quentin asked.

Zie looked around for a moment. "Yes, I suppose I could. I can send my troops instructions from out here for the _coup d'état…_" She smiled, showing off her strange, sharp teeth.

"That still creeps me out," Quentin commented.

"I know," Zie breathed.

_On the Massive…_

"Ah, interesting," Red commented, gesturing to the screen.

"Yes, yes, yes… yes… no." Purple said. "Yes." He stuffed a donut into his mouth. "Mhm."

"Yes… it appears as though our favorite Captain Zie is little more than a scheming traitor. It was smart of you to suggest monitoring our own frequencies, Purple."

"What?" Purple asked.

"Indeed. You!" he shouted, pointing to a crewman.

"What'd I do?" the crewman shouted, fell on the ground, and started rolling about in the fetal position.

"Send the self-destruct codes to the _Squish!_" Red instructed. "They'll be destroyed before they even know we found out about their little plot…"

_Two days later, on the Rapture…_

"Alright, this is it," Tak said as she finished screwing in the last part of the SIR unit head casing. "MiMi?" she asked.

The SIR unit's eyes suddenly began to glow a deep purple, owing to Mint's custom SIR unit purchase.

"MiMi, reporting for duty," the robot said evenly, with a smart salute to Tak.

Tak's normally professional behavior around her robot vanished, and, without another word, she grabbed the now-surprised MiMi in a tearful hug.

"Awww…" Pepper and Mint said in unison, both sitting on Tak's bed.

"Woo! Now me and the kitty can watch tacos and eat the TV!" GIR screamed.

"That's 'watch the TV' and 'eat tacos', GIR," Zim muttered.

"Pfft. Maybe for you," GIR said slyly, in one of his rare moments of cleverness.

"Well, it looks like you have your little robot friend working," Quentin commented, standing next to Zie and Tak, who was still clutching her robot.

"What an interesting SIR unit… it looks like some kind of modified delta-series…" Zie commented.

"Custom SIR developed from Delta-series schematics: shock resistant armor with laser dispersing coating. Waterproof, fireproof, lightning-proof. Can function as a standard communications radio, a music player, a thermos, and a Panini oven. Comes with a fusion energy recycler, 'no more recharges, just turn it on and go'!" Mint recited, as if quoting a commercial. "And technically, it's not a SIR unit anymore. I trashed the Information Retrieval functions for something cooler. It's just a side function, but it makes the acronym sound awesome – she's now a PRO unit."

"A 'PRO' unit?" Tak asked curiously.

"Yep," Mint said. "A Premium Robotic Organist. She plays the piano!" Mint started laughing maniacally.

"Okay…" Tak muttered.

"Um… Master?" MiMi asked.

"Oh, geez, MiMi. Just call me Tak."

"Okay… Tak," MiMi said. "Where are we, who are these people, and why is that _Zim _person over there?"

Tak rolled her eyes. "Oh, MiMi. It's a really, really long story… but, he's on our side now. Everyone here is."

MiMi looked around and was met with a few grins and waves.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to my parents."

"_Whaaaat?_"


	12. FINALLY!

_A few more days later…_

"Alright," Mint said, raising a flute of red wine into the air. "Here's to your second Masquerade night."

"Cheers, thanks a lot," Tak said, and tapped her glass against Pepper and Mint's with two bright dings.

"Hey, Tak," Pepper murmured. "Isn't that that guy you were talking to last week?"

Tak looked over from where they were standing at the side of the ballroom to the same red-eyed Irken who was sitting alone where he had sat briefly last week.

She glanced at Pepper. "Yeah, so?" Tak asked.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "I think you should talk to him. He's alone, but not that 'look at me, I'm a creep' alone. You know?"

"No, I don't," Tak admitted. "But, I guess I'll go talk to him, again…"

Tak weaved through the crowd and made it back to the bench that she had sat at last week.

"Well, if it isn't the golden-eyed girl," he said. He gestured for Tak to sit next to him, and Tak did.

"And if it isn't you," Tak muttered.

He adjusted his mask – a simple white, porcelain-like piece – and gave Tak a curious expression. "Something bothering you?" he asked coolly.

Tak was about to issue an angry retort, but she sighed and looked down. "Yes, actually," she said absently.

The red-eyed Irken looked at her quizzically. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"Yes, I suppose. I don't know you, and you don't know me, so I guess it's alright," she muttered. "Well, it all started when I was born."

He laughed. "That's funny."

Tak shot him a deadly glare.

"Oh, you're not kidding," he muttered sheepishly. "My apologies. Continue."

Tak sighed. "This isn't easy, you know? Well, anyway… I was born naturally. To parents." She waited for the inevitable sharp intake of breath, but none came. She glanced at him. He nodded once and gestured for her to resume.

"Yes. And, well, my mother and my father didn't have the best relationship, apparently – seeing as he was a freedom fighter and she was an Imperial spy – so that wasn't great. It was even worse when she eventually disappeared after going back to the Empire, and my father lied to me and said… that she _died._" She paused and glanced up at the other Irken. "I eventually decided that the life of the resistance was not for me, so I trained at the Devastis military training planet to, possibly, even become an _Invader…_ although that would never happen. This _idiot_ named _Zim_ blew something up and knocked out the power, and I was forced to be a janitorial drone on planet _Dirt_ until I could retake the test… in _seventy years!_"

"That must have been pretty depressing," he murmured.

"Yeah. It was," Tak said. "Anyway, I eventually tracked down the _fool_ that caused the blackout, and I found out that he had become an Invader! Can you believe that?"

"Ironic, to say the least," he agreed.

"Yeah, but here's the part with the real irony: he gets help from the race that he's trying to conquer to keep me from conquering them!"

"My, that is ironic…"

"I know… I was flung into space! It was sheer luck that I made it back to the Empire… they didn't punish me for escaping or failing to get Zim's mission, which was strange. They gave me several odd assignments for a few years, and then sprang a strange mission upon me and a few others, including Zim himself!" Tak growled. "It was a suicide mission, to crash into this very ship we're sitting in right now. You know, to get public support behind the Empire. Going down in the line of duty, and all of that stuff."

"How did you survive?" he asked curiously.

"Well, we crashed into the central park area of the ship, and someone came to help us. I'm now reunited with everyone, including my ex-spy mother who seems to have come back to the resistance, and my SIR… er, PRO Unit, MiMi." She bit her lip and looked up. "I probably shouldn't have told you that."

"Oh, I don't mind," he said with a smile. "I don't care who you are. You're great at telling stories, even if they're true."

Tak grinned. "Well, thanks for listening. I needed someone to tell the whole thing to, just so I could sort it out in my own head."

"I understand," he replied. Suddenly, his PAK beeped. He glanced at Tak. "Sorry, let me take this." He turned away, and a communicator shot out of his pack and into his hand. "Yes?"

Tak turned away politely, not wanting to eavesdrop on his call.

"No, no dance," he muttered. "Look, I don't care if kitty doesn't want to play with you. I'm busy, GI-… uh… Gaston. _Gaston!_ How _dare_ you call me now! I will see to it that you _never_ work in the food industry again!" He pressed the button to cut the transmission, and the communicator retracted into his PAK. He looked at Tak sheepishly. "The nerve of some people."

Tak glared at him. "I knew it was you, Zim."

He flinched. "Zim? I'm afraid you must have me confused with someone else…"

Tak glared at him with more intensity.

Zim frowned and looked away. "I've been working on speaking a little more… normal-ish. I thought I would be able to fool you, Tak." He pulled the mask control remote from his pocket and turned off the voice modifier.

Tak was about to yell at him and splash her wine in his face, but then she furrowed her brow. "Wait a second, how did you know I was Tak before I told you my life's story just now…?"

Zim blushed to a dark blue. "Well, I've been watching you, recently. I could tell simply by the way you walked and talked. And the amazing Zim in his infinite observation confirmed that it was you when he saw you with Pepper and Mint today. They never change their voice or eye color, you know."

Tak cleared her throat. "That's creepy. You're creepy, Zim."

Zim chuckled. "Yes, I sure am. Anyhow, are you _really_ that mad at the amazing _Zim_?"

Tak chuckled at his quirky speech mannerism, and then sighed. "I'm not sure. For a while there, I honestly believed you ruined my life. Now I see that, if not for you, I'd probably have been an Invader, with two possible outcomes: One, I'd have conquered a planet and would have gotten a medal. Two, I'd have failed and would be dead right now." She paused and glanced at Zim. "So, I suppose you helped me more than you hurt me. A lot more."

Zim looked at her with a surprised expression. "So, you're not going to yell at me and splash your wine in my face?"

Tak chuckled again, realizing that she almost did just that. "No, I don't think so… not today, anyway," she added.

"Wanna dance?" Zim asked.

"I thought you said you didn't dance," Tak said, surprised.

"So?" Zim asked.

Tak couldn't think of a good answer.

_On the Rapture's bridge…_

"Whoa, slow down," Zie ordered. "What do you mean the _Squish_ exploded?"

"_The Tallest… the Tallest found out about the coup_!" her informant whispered. "_The last of us are being tracked down, too…_"

Zie sighed. "I know that you are a true supporter of my plan, which is why I must ask you to abandon it unless you can get away. Destroy all evidence of your involvement, and, if you're sure you can, fly to the United Irken Resistance vessel, the _Rapture._"

She waited for a response.

"Hello?" she asked.

"_Okay, sir, we've got him," _someone said faintly. _"Good. That's one less traitor._"

Zie turned off the communicator.

_Later, at night (In space?) in Tak's room…_

"You know, Zim," Tak said, "it wasn't necessary to walk me back to my room. If we were attacked, I think I'd be able to fend off the zombies or space pirates better than you could."

Zim chuckled and turned the doorknob.

"Stop!" MiMi shouted. "Identify yourself!"

"Uh," Zim stated.

"Uh?" MiMi asked irritably.

"Whozat?" someone screamed from inside. GIR bounced up to Tak, MiMi, and Zim, disguise-eyes staring at them blankly. "Hiya!"

"GIR, what are you doing here?" Zim asked curiously.

"What are _you_ doing here, Master?" GIR asked with a goofy grin.

Zim blushed and looked away. "You speak crazy-talk."

"It's alright, MiMi. He can come inside if he wants to," Tak said, stepping inside her room.

Zim hesitated at the door, and then stepped inside as well.

"So, what are you doing with Zim's robot, MiMi?" Tak asked.

"He practically broke down the door and started screaming about watching 'The Scary Monkey Show'… No, I don't know what that is, either," MiMi added glumly.

"Woo hoo!" GIR yelled, jumped back on Tak's couch, and stared at the blank television screen. "I love this show."

"Are you ever going to…? You know… fix him?" Tak asked.

"I did, once," Zim whispered. His eyes took on a far-off look, and then he flinched and started shivering. "Anyhow, do you have any snacks? I'm starving!"

Tak grinned. "Trying to raid my fridge, are you? I'll see what's there." She walked along the carpeted floor and reached the tiled kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and glanced around each shelf. "It doesn't look like I have anything that I could make in under half an hour!"

"Aw, that's too bad!" Zim called.

Tak walked back into the living room, and noticed that GIR and MiMi were both gone. "Where'd they go?" she asked.

"GIR and MiMi? GIR whispered something about them going into your room to play with some rubber piggies," Zim said from his seat on the couch.

"I never expected that _they_ would become friends," Tak muttered.

"I never expected that _we _would become friends, either," Zim said.

Tak sat down next to him and glanced at him. "_Are_ we, Zim?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," Zim said, meeting her gaze. "Do you want to be friends?"

"No," Tak said in a serious tone. She closed her eyes.

Zim's hurt expression dissolved when Tak's lips touched his. Zim's eyes drifted closed after the initial wave of realization. She pulled away.

"So… uh…?" Zim asked hazily.

"So, uh," Tak repeated with a smile.

Their lips touched again, but Zim pulled away this time.

"What are you _doing_?" Zim asked exasperatedly. "The normally vigilant and observant Zim is strangely confused."

"It's called a kiss, stupid," Tak muttered. She wrapped her arms around him.

Zim struggled a little bit. "Yes, yes, I know what it's _called, _but why are you _doing_ it?"

Tak smiled. "I like you," she said simply.

Zim blushed.

"Zim… Zim likes you, too," he murmured.

**[Author's Note:**

**Yes, yes: Finally some ZATR. In addition, some extra-super-awesome action will be transpiring in the next few chapters – and that's not even taking the romance into account.**

**Why am I so **_**amazing**_**?**

**~ClockwerkOrange**

**P.S. Reviews prevent me from shooting the other marksmen at the shooting range.]**


	13. But This Is?

**[Author's Note:**

**Before you ask: **_**NO.**__**THEY JUST KISSED!**_

**~CWO]**

There was a beeping sound that jarred Tak from her sleep on the couch. Tak pulled herself up into a sitting position and yawned.

"Hiya, people, this is the captain speaking," Quentin said over the ship-wide intercom. "I'm letting you know that everyone except the maintenance crew, if they're actually on the ship, needs to come to the bridge right now. That is all."

The intercom beeped once more to signal that the announcement was over.

Tak yawned again, and looked down at the sleeping Zim. His face was expressionless, and his eyes were shut. His chest was moving up and down in a rhythmic pattern, and she could just barely hear the sound of his breathing. It seemed they had dozed off.

Tak turned her attention to the large window in front of the couch – behind the television – and gazed upon the empty void of space. Empty, of course, except for the tiny pinpricks of light that were the stars. She sighed. _Why did I kiss Zim?_ she asked herself. She didn't have an answer. She cocked her head. _Why _shouldn't_ I have kissed Zim? _she asked herself as well. She didn't have an answer for that, either.

She glanced back at Zim with narrowed eyes. _Why is he making me feel this way? What's causing me to… to be so weak like this?_

As if she didn't know the answer.

_Love,_ she admitted. _Of course it would be love._

The love that caused an Imperial spy to eventually oppose her empire was the same love that had taken her by surprise right now.

_I'm in love with him, of course. It couldn't be someone competent, could it? _she thought. _No, it had to be Zim: Incompetent, noisy, quirky Zim. The Zim that foiled my plans. The Zim that almost destroyed my best friend. The Zim that I'm in love with._

…_My Zim._

_On the bridge…_

"Hold it, hold it, we're here!" Tak called as she walked through the sliding door to the bridge with Zim next to her. They were holding each other's hands.

Pepper's jaw dropped while Mint, Quentin, Zie, MiMi, and GIR (MiMi and GIR had disappeared in the middle of the night to try to find some tacos) stared at the pair silently.

"Uh," Pepper said eloquently.

"Uh huh," Mint agreed.

Zie was the first to recover. "Uhm, Tak?" she asked in a concerned tone, slithering over. "Are you… holding hands with Zim?"

Tak eyed her curiously. "Yes," she replied.

Zie bit her lip and examined Zim. "But this is Zim," she said, and pointed at him to prove her point.

"I know," Tak said.

Zie stared at her stupidly. "B-but… this is _Zim,_" she repeated.

"I _know._"

Zie examined Tak this time. "Are you feeling… okay?"

"Yes, I'm _fine!_" Tak snapped.

"Oh, yeah. I guess we're…?" Zim ventured, earning a glare from Tak.

"_I'll_ break it to them," Tak commented.

"'Break it to us'? What's there to break?" Mint asked, eyeing Tak suspiciously. "Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"Zim and I are mutually interested in one another, and that same interest has sparked a relationship between us surpassing that of simple friendship," Tak explained, nodding knowingly.

"Psst," Mint whispered to Pepper. "What's that mean?"

"It means they're screwing," Pepper said unceremoniously.

Tak and Zim blushed to an over-9,000 on the Richter scale.

"_Pepper!_" everyone else shouted in unison.

"_Whaaaaaaaaat?_" Pepper asked. "I was just saying what everyone was _thinking_," she said with a dismissive shrug.

"Oh, Pepper!" Mint whined. "Look, you _embarrassed_ them!" She pointed at the couple and smacked her other hand's palm on her face in a symbolic action of pure failure.

"And that drama _isn't_ embarrassing Master?" MiMi asked.

"Aw, look. Master's holding hands with purple girl!" GIR squealed.

"_GIR!_" everyone screamed.

"The great Zim shall not lie – he is embarrassed," Zim murmured, squeezing Tak's hand.

"Well, screw you… y-you doubters!" Tak shouted.

"Now, now," Quentin said as he walked over. "I think it's wonderful that you've… um… resolved your conflict with your little Zim friend. Although, perhaps your reconciliation was a little too… reconcilly," he added quietly.

"I think it's cute!" Mint commented. "In fact, I think we should make t-shirts with Tak and Zim on them and everything!"

"I think they're sexy together," Pepper remarked absently while scratching the back of her head. When she looked back at the group, they were all staring at her. "What, _again_?_"_

"Well, I think we should all understand that Tak is her own person, and she can make up with… or _out with_… whomever she wishes," Zie said with a shudder.

"Stop making fun of Master!" MiMi squeaked, and her arm transformed into an extremely threatening… thermos. "Stupid controls," MiMi murmured.

"This is stupid," Zim commented.

"I think so, too," Tak agreed. "What were we called here for, anyway?"

"Oh, right," Quentin said, and beckoned for everyone to gather around a little monitor embedded in a table. "As you know, the Massive's deactivating their weapons in only two days." He cleared his throat and pressed a button on his remote, and the picture on the table monitor flashed to a side view of the Massive. "Zie's forces were discovered and terminated, so that just leaves us. Zie informs me that their shields will be down as well, so she will literally crash through their windshield and take the Tallest themselves hostage. After demanding that the military not fire on our ship or the Massive – which they probably wouldn't do, anyway, but you can never be too sure... – the _Rapture_ and our mini-fleet will fly into the Armada's space and negotiate for the Empire to release the current Almighty Tallest from the throne and establish the United Irken Resistance leaders as temporary Empire leaders until the Irken Navy is disarmed and our control is established. As you can see, we've thought this through."

Pepper looked up. "And if they refuse to dethrone the Tallest?" she asked.

"That possibility has been taken care of," Zie murmured.

"I'm game, then," Pepper said with a grin.

"Excellent. I hope you all have fun tonight and relax, but make sure to get a good night's sleep tomorrow night. We need you all rested and ready," Quentin said. "You know, that's funny… I just realized that there really isn't any night in space. It's always dark!"

Everyone stared at him.

He chuckled. "Isn't that funny?"

_Tak's room, at SPACE-NIGHT…_

"It was nice of you to talk to me for a while, Zim…" Tak whispered.

Zim smiled, and then sighed. "The _coup _is in two days," he reminded her.

"Yeah, I'm not going to forget," Tak said, and let her hand drift to Zim's. Their fingers interlocked. "I think I love you."

Zim chuckled. "I think I love you, too."

And for the second blissful moment, but still on Tak's sofa, their lips touched again. This time it was longer, sustained… Tak dropped Zim's hand and wrapped her arms around Zim, and Zim returned the favor. Suddenly, Tak found herself on top of Zim, and she really noticed how small – even though he _had_ gotten taller since their encounter on Earth – he was. It wasn't that he was short; they were about the same size. It was just that he was simply _smaller_. He was thin, with spindly little arms and legs – he even seemed vaguely feminine, too.

_I wonder what that says about me, _Tak thought absently, even as she was barely able to form coherent thoughts.

Their lips parted, and the ability to think vanished in a little fizzy, bubbly feeling in her mind. While they were busy nearly shoving their tongues down each other's throats, Tak's mind ran through a few detached memories.

Tak had always believed that there was no such thing as 'love' – that love was just a nice word to make one feel less filthy when one and his or her lustful partner worked away their hideous primal desires with one another. She had believed that love was an illusion – nay, impossibility. The only thing that existed was _lust,_ pure and simple.

At this point, rather than argue with herself (Which might result in love triumphing over all, because of her brand new fresh experience), she decided that this moment didn't need further elaboration.

Zim withdrew slightly in the inch of space he had, causing Tak to gaze at him with a cocktail of emotions in her eyes: surprise, hurt, and mind-numbing _hunger._

Tak continued panting while Zim managed to catch his breath and sigh. "I think I should go, now," he said.

"But…?"

"I really think that… I should leave," Zim repeated.

Tak lowered her mouth to his left ear. "Don't go…" she whispered. "…Stay with me." Her mouth drifted to the tender skin below Zim's ear, on his neck. She nipped the spot once, playfully.

"Tak," Zim whispered. "I'm going to leave now."

Tak pulled away and sat down at the end of the couch. "Why?" she asked.

_At least it's easier to think…_ she thought, although she really wished they hadn't stopped.

"I don't think we should…" Zim murmured.

Tak laughed. "Zim, we weren't going to."

Zim stared at her with an 'Oh, really?' kind of expression.

Now it was Tak's turn to sigh. "Yeah, okay. So I couldn't help myself. It's kind of hard to do that when you're so super-cute," she muttered. "It's irresistible."

"Tak, there's no use in trying to deceive the _mighty Zim_," Zim said, pulling himself up in order to sit upright.

"I'm not trying to deceive you," Tak said.

"Fine… there's no use in trying to flatter me to make me do what you want me to," Zim said. "Is that more accurate?"

Tak glanced at him. "How is it that _you_, of all people, can read me like a book?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Good night," Zim said, and kissed her hand.

"What a gentleman," Tak muttered dryly.

Zim stood silently and made for the door. He turned the handle and pulled it towards him.

"There's always tomorrow," Tak sighed.

"That's true," Zim remarked cryptically, and then stepped out of her room. "I love you."

The door closed gently.

"I love you, too," Tak whispered to the empty room. She clutched the couch pillow to her chest and smiled.

**[Author's Note:**

**Ugh, what's this called? Semi-fluff? I dunno. Wow. Third day in a row that I've written a chapter that was over 1,500 words and uploaded it. So, at this point, this story is receiving a new chapter…**

**EVERY**

_**SINGLE**_

_**DAY!**_

**Awesome, yes?**

**~ClockwerkOrange]**


	14. Day Before the Day Before the Battle Fun

Tak yawned, and looked around briefly. She was in her room. _That's funny. I must have walked to the bedroom after I fell asleep._

She stretched, and then climbed out of bed. She scratched the side of her left arm absentmindedly and slowly made her way to the closet. After pulling off her t-shirt and flannel pants, she opened the door and picked out one of the identical purple _Rapture_ uniforms and slipped it on. Then, she walked slowly down the small hallway and into the living room. She turned towards the entrance, walked the required steps, and then opened the door.

Pepper was standing there.

"Well?" she asked.

Tak yawned and stared at her. "'Well' what?"

"How'd it go?" she asked.

Tak tried to focus, but she was too tired. "How'd what go?"

Pepper sighed and rolled her eyes. "You know. Last night."

Tak just stared at her with a confused expression. "You wanna… come in?" she asked blearily.

Pepper sighed again, and then looked past Tak. "Where is he? I don't see him…" She followed Tak into the living room and sat down on the sofa. Tak sat down as well.

"Who?" Tak asked.

"Zim," Pepper replied. "He was here, right?"

"Oh, yeah… yeah, he was."

"Well?" Pepper asked again.

"'Well' what?" Tak growled.

"Did you… do it?" Pepper asked with a grin.

"Do what?" Tak asked.

"Don't play coy with me, you thing, you…" Pepper said, still maintaining her grin.

"Look, maybe I'm just too tired, but _what _on _Irk_ are you _talking about?_"

"You and Zim, of course," Pepper said.

"Oh," Tak said with a blush. "Yeah. We sort of…"

"Oh, oh, say no _more!_" Pepper said with a little nudge of the elbow to Tak's ribs. "Wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more!"

"Sorry…?" Tak murmured. "I don't follow."

"Oh, ho, _ho, _say no _more!_" Pepper howled.

"Look, I'm really confused and tired and…"

Pepper glared at Tak. "Are you kidding? Am I going to have to spell it out for you?"

Tak nodded.

"Sex," Pepper said simply.

Tak blushed again. "No! No, no, no, no. _No._"

"Not even a little?" Pepper asked curiously.

"No!" Tak yelled, and threw a pillow. "And even if we _did, _why do _you_ need to know?"

"It's my business to know what you do with little Zim, and _when_ you do it, and _how_ you do it, and who _else_ you do it _with…_" Pepper added.

"You're almost as bad as Mint…" Tak whined.

"I disagree," she replied with a smile. "Watch."

"Watch wh-…"

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Pepper asked offhandedly with her gloved hand on Tak's back. Her hand slowly drifted down until it was halfway down her spine when Tak jumped off of the couch and pointed dramatically at Pepper.

"You're _worse _than Mint!"

"I know," she remarked. "So you didn't do anything interesting with Zim?"

"N-… You don't need to know the answer to that question," Tak said, arms crossed. She was still keeping her distance.

"I think it's interesting how many different intelligent species attach a negative – or _naughty – _stigma to the act of reproduction," Pepper said thoughtfully. "It's fun, natural, and a little bit educational."

"You're sick," Tak murmured.

"Maybe _so…_ but Mint doesn't think so," she added.

"Perhaps that's because she's as sick as you are?" Tak suggested.

"Oh, I know for a _fact_ that she's as sick as me…" Pepper breathed.

Tak was about to laugh, but then she stared at Pepper blankly. "Really?"

Pepper grinned.

"You…?"

Pepper's grin expanded into a wide smile.

"_You and Mint?_" Tak shouted.

"Easy, keep your voice down. We're all friends here," Pepper said casually.

"If Mint's an example of how you treat your friends…!" Tak said incredulously.

"She doesn't seem to complain," Pepper said nonchalantly, tugging at her right glove.

"Excuse me for a moment while I go puke in the sink."

"Have _fun!_" Pepper called as Tak walked into the kitchen.

"_Beep beep! Beep! Look at me, I'm making beepies!_" someone screamed over the intercom.

"_No, GIR! You cannot play with the intercom,"_ Quentin explained. "_Ahem. This is your captain speaking. Today is the last day before the day we'll use to prepare for our attack, so I've decided – along with Mint – to host an early Masquerade Ball this week. It will happen at the usual time, only it'll be… you know… today."_

_That 'night', in SPACE…!_

As usual, the ballroom was bathed in golden light, with gold curtains lining the walls. It was full of motion, with dancers twirling in time with old music from planet Earth.

"Hello, ladies," Pepper greeted Mint, Tak, and MiMi. "Where's Zim?"

"You stay away from my master's friends!" MiMi squeaked.

"Aw, what a _cute little robot_…" Pepper cooed as she gave MiMi a hug.

"Thou shalt unhand me, vile harpy! Your words art as sullied with thy deceit as your soul! Verily, one mightn't gaze through thy disguise and fall victim to your succubus-esque evil doings! _En guarde_!"

Pepper stared at her stupidly. "…_What_?"

"Hi, Tak!" Dib said, walking up casually. "Wanna dance?"

Pepper, Mint, MiMi (Who was still being hugged by Pepper), and Tak all stared at him blankly, before erupting into laughter.

"Well, you don't have to if you don't…"

Dib's words were covered up by even louder laughing. He walked away slowly with a hurt expression, but stopped when he saw Zie towering above him next to Quentin. Even through her mask, he could still see her perfectly undisguised cold, gray eyes.

Needless to say, he fell on the ground and started screaming like a girl, attracting several concerned glances from the other attendees.

"Private… whatever your last name is!" a high pitched voice squeaked. The owner of the voice, Lard Nar himself, walked up to the group.

"Yes, sir!" Dib said altogether unconvincingly, as he was still lying on the floor.

"Why exactly are you screaming like a little schoolgirl?" Nar shouted.

"Well, she's the Irken captain that hit me and stuffed me into a sphere and it wasn't nice and I-didn't-like-it-and-I-was-soggy-and-it-made-me-sad-and…!"

"Silence!" Lard Nar screamed. "Calm down!"

"Oh, I knew that the tainted water wouldn't affect you. I was being nice. I knew that you knew Zim, so I convincingly arranged it so that you'd get to somewhere where people knew you, and then you could get home if you wanted to," Zie explained.

"Then why'd you hit me?" Dib asked.

Zie shrugged. "Who said I was nice? And your head's big."

Dib sniffled. "I… I know…"

After Lard Nar managed to slowly drag Dib off, Quentin casually inquired as to whether or not Zie would like to dance with him.

"You? Dance? You don't have two left feet, you have two left _noodles,_" Zie muttered. "Last time we danced you stepped on my foot. Twice."

"So is that a 'yes'?" Quentin asked.

"Yeah, okay," Zie replied with a shrug.

As Quentin and Zie walked off, Zim meandered up.

"Tak…" Zim acknowledged.

"Hi, Zim," Tak greeted.

"Oh, that is just so precious!" Mint commented.

"I wonder if Tak would let us borrow Zim," Pepper murmured thoughtfully.

"_No_," Tak snapped.

"Whoa, whoa… touchy," Pepper said, with a take-it-easy kind of hand gesture. "Just stay calm."

"When are you going to put me down?" MiMi asked flatly.

"When you stop being the cutest and most special thing _ever!_" Mint squealed as she accepted MiMi from Pepper and gave the little robot a big hug.

"Hmm…" Zim vocalized. "I wonder where GIR is?"

Meanwhile, GIR was splashing around in the punch bowl for the non-alcohol consuming guests. They would go thirsty that night.

"Lemme go!" MiMi squeaked. She threw a sandwich at Mint, which missed – even at the surprisingly close range – and landed in Pepper's hands.

"Thanks!" Pepper said with a big thumbs-up.

"_Tak!_ Would you like to dance with the _amazing Zim…?_" Zim asked dramatically, extending a gloved hand.

Tak accepted it and was led onto the dance floor.

_The Beautiful Blue Danube_ began playing, and Zim and Tak began dancing to the song in the ¾ time signature.

What they didn't know was that the choice of song was perfect. With the massive reminder of space in the background through the large ceiling of glass, they were almost acting out – with real dancers – the famous scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey in which the same song plays to the endless void of space. The only thing missing from the scene would be the appearance of a mysterious black rectangle.

Suddenly, Zim let go of Tak. Tak looked at him curiously, but saw that Zim was _removing his gloves._ A small gasp escaped Tak's lips. Removing your gloves in public wasn't a problem; it was _touching someone else_ with your _bare hands…_ _That_ was surprising. It just wasn't done often. In Irken society, touching someone without gloves on was the most intimate thing you could do. It was symbolic of having power over someone – which was generally why the only people to not wear gloves were current Almighty Tallest.

Zim stuffed his gloves in his pocket and wordlessly grabbed Tak's wrists with his now-ungloved hands. The sensation of his bare skin made Tak's eye twitch – but it wasn't uncomfortable. Zim silently pulled off Tak's left glove, and then her right glove. She absentmindedly put them in her pocket as well. They reassumed their shared dancing position, and then continued as if the rapid glove removal had never taken place – but it _had_. With her gloves resting in her pocket, Tak felt strangely exposed. As she continued to move with Zim and the music, she suddenly realized that Zim meant their mutual de-gloving as a symbolic gesture. He meant that he trusted her, and he believed she trusted him.

…And she loved knowing that for a fact.

**[Author's Note:**

**Yes, I made a 2001: A Space Odyssey reference. **_**Wonderful**_** film, but I highly suggest you read the book for it to make any sense. There are movie versions of 2001 and its direct sequel, but there aren't any movie versions of the last two books – and I doubt anyone will ever make them. So pick up the whole series in book form! It's great stuff. Arthur C. Clarke wrote it, I think. Yeah. Awesome.**

**And – you've probably guessed this already – the "A Space Odyssey" part of the title **_**is**_** stolen directly from the book and movie of the same name, mashed together with "Beyond the Stars" of Backseat Drivers fame… That totally rhymed, didn't it? Name, fame… hee.**

**What is this, the third or fourth day in a row that I've written a chapter that's **_**over **_**1,500 words long and posted it?**

**DAILY UPDATES! THEY SAID I WAS CRAZY, THEY SAID IT COULDN'T BE DONE… I don't know who 'they' are, but…**

**Hey, look, I'm rambling! **_**AWESOME!**_

**~ClockwerkOrange]**


	15. Relapse

_After the party…_

Zim and Tak were walking down the hallway after the party, and they had been making small conversation for a while.

"So, did you know that Mint and Pepper are… an… item?" Tak forced out.

Zim smiled. "Yeah, I actually caught them kissing on the way to the bridge one day."

"What, were they mad at you?" Tak asked curiously.

"No, not at all… in fact, they wanted me to join in…" Zim added sheepishly.

"Yeah… they creep me out. At least they're nice about it, though," Tak muttered.

Zim nodded his head in agreement.

Tak's ungloved hand was still in contact with Zim's as they walked down the hall, and the steady tap of their boots on the metal floor was adding to the silence, rather than taking some of it away.

"Why do you love me?" Zim asked carefully, not breaking his stride.

Tak frowned at the sudden question. "Why would you ask that?" she asked, replying to a question with a question.

"It seems…" Zim said, trying to choose his words carefully, "…that you've changed."

"In what sense?" Tak questioned.

"You're not the manipulative, screamy Tak you were when we had that altogether brief encounter on Earth," Zim said.

Tak laughed quietly. "Yes, well. I have less reason to be manipulative or 'screamy'…"

Zim nodded. "Yes, I suppose so."

"…Although, I'd like to address your other point," Tak continued.

Zim looked confused. "What? Oh, er, I mean, _yes! _Of _course_ the _great Zim _has another point!"

"You said we had a 'brief encounter' on Earth. That, coupled with the fact that we've only had a few quick conversations from that point on has led me to question why I've… well, fallen in… _love… _with you," she forced out. "And now that I think of how you turned from my most hated enemy for years into the object of my affection, I am given pause…"

Zim turned to Tak. "Well, why do you suppose Zim has fallen for _you_?"

"I-…" She furrowed her brow - or, at least, where her eyebrows would be. She turned to Zim with a curious expression. "Why _have_ you…?"

Zim faced forward and grinned. "I suppose I would be attracted someone that is so much like myself."

"What do you mean 'like yourself'?" Tak asked.

"You're manipulative, you love yourself, you think you're better than everyone else, and yet you live to please your superiors…" said Zim, with a distant look in his eye. "Well, that's how I _used_ to be, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Tak asked.

"Earth… Earth is the most horrible place you can imagine. No, worse than that," Zim said quietly. "And I was stuck there for years."

Tak frowned. "But… you don't have to go back there now. You're here… with me, you know?"

Zim sighed. "I know." He glanced at Tak with a small smile. "And if you're really concerned about our strange little relationship progressing too fast, I hope you'll realize that the amazing Zim understands."

"You know," Tak muttered. "You've changed, too."

He stopped, and let go of Tak's hand. _My hand feels cold without my gloves on… or his hand…_ Tak thought absentmindedly. She waved the stupid thought away.

"This is your room," Zim stated matter-of-factly.

"Will you be joining me tonight?" Tak asked innocently.

Zim shrugged. "How badly do you want Zim?"

"Oh, I want Zim. I really do," Tak growled.

Zim's blush level could have put industrial paint to shame. "That's not what I meant!" he squeaked, turning away. "I meant it like, 'how much do you want me to enter the room'… I didn't mean it like _that_, I _didn't!_"

"I understand," Tak said evenly. "Please, calm down. You're acting childish…"

Zim stiffened and turned slightly to glance at Tak. "I'm… I'm n-not…"

Tak looked around self-consciously, but noticed that the hallway was empty. "Zim, you're not going to cry, are you? Get a hold of yourself."

Zim just hid his face and started shaking slightly.

"Zim, you've got to be kidding. If you can be brought to tears by me calling you 'childish'… Zim, quit it," Tak ordered. "I never thought I'd see _you_ cry. The great _Zim_, brought to his knees by a few words… you're acting like a smeet." Suddenly, she smacked herself mentally. All this was just making it _worse! _

_Oh, no…_ she thought. _I'd never forgive myself if I gave him an inferiority complex…_

"Zim… Zim, come on…" she whispered, gently wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "I didn't mean it."

"Yes, you did," Zim muttered. His words weren't that of a person who had been crying. He fought free of her loose grasp and snapped around. His eyes were so astonishingly blood red… it was as if they had gotten darker just because of his anger. "You meant it."

"Zim, it was just a stupid little thing… it slipped out. It isn't a big deal," she insisted. "I'm sorry. Look, you're taking this whole thing too far… you're acting stupid."

"Don't call me stupid," Zim whispered.

"Yeah, well maybe I _wouldn't_ if you weren't acting like you _were!_" Tak snapped, and turned away. She glanced back at Zim's furious expression.

"Well, maybe I wouldn't be acting 'stupid', if you weren't such a jerk to me! I still remember when you poured barbecue sauce on me!" he shouted.

Tak got in Zim's face. "Well, it looks like you deserved it!" she yelled. "I can't believe I kissed _you…_ that was my _first kiss,_ you know? _Wasted!_"

Rather than break, Zim's fury exploded onto a whole new level.

"Yeah? Well I laughed my head off when I sent you flying off into deep space! You should have seen your _face_!" he roared.

"Hah! The only reason you won was because you got help from the same people you were supposed to _conquer…_ Oh, _yeah_! That's right. You _can't_. I wonder _why…?_" Tak asked mockingly.

"Shut up!"

"Oh, I've hit a _nerve_, have I?" Tak asked innocently. "Failure, failure, _fail_-_ure…_" she sang.

"You… shut… _up…!_" Zim screamed, and slapped Tak right across the face.

Tak, eyes wide open, turned her head slowly back to Zim's. Her mouth was fixed in a surprised 'o', more out of shock than pain. She slapped him across the face for good measure.

Zim's eyes narrowed as he turned back to Tak. "I hate you," he whispered.

The words cut like a knife… no, worse than that. Like a spoon - a dull, rusty spoon that, over the course of several hours, had just managed to wear its way through Tak's ribcage and through the cardiac muscle of her heart. Then, it was left there.

"I hate you, too," was all she could say in return. She turned and pressed the button for her room's door to open. It slid open noiselessly, and she walked in. It was dark, and the only light came from the stars casting their faint glow on her living room and a small light mounted near the floor in the hallway so that she wouldn't crash over something.

She hadn't noticed that Zim had slipped in until she turned back and saw him there, contrasting sharply with the glowing control panel next to the door.

"What the hell do _you_ want?" she demanded.

Zim moved closer.

"What the hell are you _doing_?" she asked, when Zim put his arm around her back, but she didn't resist when their lips touched. In fact, she put both of her arms around Zim and slowly moved them forward.

Zim's back hit the wall with a quiet thud, and Tak put a little more weight behind the kiss. Zim wasn't one to be backed to a wall, so he spun Tak around and had her leaning against the wall. She, of course, being Tak, decided to cut their little session short and show him who exactly the boss was. She put her bare hand around Zim's throat and pushed him onto the floor. While he was trying to return to his feet, she crouched, flipped him over after a while, and then sat on his lower back with a smug expression.

"You're weak, Zim," Tak growled.

Zim struggled quietly.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… pathetic," Tak growled. "Although, I will give you a chance to redeem yourself… seeing as, you know, this situation is less than desirable."

Zim sighed, and frowned.

"I assume that means you accept. Alright, you and I are going to kiss and make up, and then you may stay here for the night _without_ me killing you."

"Always the manipulator," Zim commented dryly, rising to his feet after Tak stood up.

"Naturally," Tak remarked coldly, and grabbed his hand. "I'm glad your little robot has been keeping MiMi busy… I don't need her freaking out anymore," she added absently.

"GIR has his moments, I suppose," Zim murmured as they came to Tak's bedroom.

"Take off your shirt and pants and get in the bed," Tak ordered. "I assume you're wearing another piece of clothing under your shirt. If not, no matter…"

Zim pulled free of Tak's grip, followed her orders, revealing a small soft tank top and shorts, and awkwardly slid underneath the blanket. Tak joined him quickly, after shedding her uniform in the darkness and rapidly putting on flannel pants and a t-shirt.

"So…" Zim said. "What now?"

"Now, we go to sleep," Tak informed him.

Zim guffawed. "Uh… okay."

"Alarm's set for 0900 hours. Goodnight!" she said with a smile, and pulled the sheet up and wrapped her arms around Zim. "Gee, you're skinny, you know?"

Zim stared at the ceiling in silence for a solid minute. "Tak…?"

"Hush, Zim. Oh, and if we ever fight again, I'll kill you," she said sweetly, and pulled Zim closer to herself. "But I am sorry. I don't want our disagreements or mistakes with each other to escalate into blows or words that harsh ever again, okay?"

"Oh, _okay_," Zim muttered in a mocking tone.

"What was that?" Tak asked in an annoyed tone.

"Nothing," Zim replied quickly.

"You _have_ changed, Zim…" Tak whispered. "Well, I'm sorry about hitting you."

"Oh, yeah… me, too," Zim added sheepishly. "And sending you into deep space," he noted.

"Nobody's perfect," Tak said dismissively. "Goodnight, Zim." She yawned, and began to doze off slightly. "I love you," she added.

Zim sighed quietly. "Zim loves you, too…"

And he meant it.


	16. GET BACK HERE!

_The next morning…_

_Click!_

…

"Morning, Tak!" someone called cheerfully.

Tak opened her eyes slowly and looked around. After blinking a few times, she saw Pepper come into focus. "Ugh… hello, Pepper… what time is it?"

"Almost 0900 hours!" Pepper said with a grin.

"Oh, good… could you turn off my alarm clock?" Tak asked. "And why are you so… happy?"

Pepper chuckled and pointed next to her, causing Tak to glance to her side. Zim was curled up, nuzzling against her belly. Tak looked back up to Pepper, and saw that she was holding a camera. It beeped, and spat out a black photograph.

"It'll take about ten minutes for the ink to reflect the internal data," Pepper explained, fingering the photograph absentmindedly. "I think that's plenty of time to make it to the bridge."

Tak's jaw dropped open slightly. "You wouldn't dare."

"I-couldn't-possibly… could I?" Pepper asked, running the words together in rapid succession. At the end of the sentence, she stroked her chin thoughtfully. She then turned and slowly walked to the hall door with a grin.

"_Zim!_" Tak screamed. "_Wake up!_"

Zim opened his eyes and noticed where his head was. "Uh... Zim's head appears to be on your stomach."

"Yes, and Pepper's got a photo of it! We have to stop her!" Tak shouted, leaping out of the bed. "For _justice!_"

"Zim hears footsteps," he commented.

"Then there's still time!" Tak yelled. "Come, Zim!"

Tak tugged on Zim a little bit, and he fell onto the floor.

"Ow," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone, and then stood up with a grim expression. "I'm ready," he said sarcastically, while trying to straighten his hot pink tank top.

Tak and Zim half-ran into the hallway, then out of the door. Tak looked to the right, and then to the left.

"There," Tak informed Zim, pointing to Pepper walking just out of their line of sight. They walked quickly down the hallway, and Pepper – who was still walking – looked back at them. She turned back around and began sprinting.

"Oh, great," Zim muttered.

"Nothing like a nice, brisk morning run!" Tak yelled.

Zim and Tak then began chasing after Pepper, and the gap between them slowly began to close.

"I'm taking this to the bridge, whether you want me to or not!" Pepper shouted back, without a hint of being tired. "Don't even try to keep up with me!"

"I beat Mint's time!" Tak called.

"The key word in that sentence is 'Mint'," Pepper countered. "I'm Pepper." She began sprinting harder, and the gap between them widened exponentially.

"Come back here!" Zim said unenthusiastically.

Zim and Tak continued running, and they saw Pepper enter the ship's seldom-used cafeteria.

"Come on, we can still catch up to her," Tak said.

They slowed slightly as Zim pushed through the door. The cafeteria was lit up, and full of Irkens eating snacks.

"Damn!" Tak said. "Tomorrow's the attack, so of course everyone will be meeting on the _Rapture…_"

"There's Pepper!" Zim yelled, pointing at the runner.

Tak and Zim dodged a few members of the crowed, and saw that Pepper had reached a dead end between the crowd and the tables. Pepper maintained her speed, leaped into the air, and spun around with her body as the axis. She landed with a somersault, and continued.

"Fwuh?" Zim remarked stupidly.

Tak silently made her way around the Irkens, and eventually pushed through the other door.

"Look!" Tak said. "She's going down the other hallway – away from the bridge!"

"Why's she going that way?" Zim questioned.

"Doesn't matter," Tak replied. "Let's hurry."

It seemed as though the creative gymnastics had drained Pepper of her stamina, because she eventually slowed and started panting.

"Give up!" Tak yelled.

"Yes! Surrender to the _mighty Zimmmmm…_" Zim suggested helpfully.

Suddenly, Dib walked through a door into their midst, and stood directly between them.

"Hi," Dib said while adjusting his glasses. "I was wondering where the cafeteria wa-…"

But it was too late for him to finish that sentence, because Pepper grabbed him and threw him at Tak and Zim. They dodged the pointy-haired projectile (who skidded onto the floor, twitched, and released a weak "I'm okay"), and eventually chased Pepper down.

Pepper leaned against the wall and continued panting. As she looked up, Zim noticed something strange about her.

"Why are you wearing one of those eye-color masks?" Zim asked curiously.

"It's because I tricked you!" 'Pepper' said, and pulled off the mask, revealing green eyes. "It's me, Mint! Pepper and I switched places at the cafeteria. I went right, and she went left… to the bridge, of course!"

Zim's jaw dropped, and Tak sighed. "We've been duped," she stated.

_A few minutes later, on the bridge…_

"Stop! Don't… do…" Tak panted, practically collapsing through the sliding door. Zim followed close behind, looking equally winded.

"Oh, hello… Tak, Zim," Pepper said with a smile. "You're just in time to see me show everyone the photo!"

Quentin, Zie, MiMi, and GIR (the robots had been building a fort in the bridge made entirely of rubber piggies) turned around, just noticing Pepper, Zim, and Tak's presence.

"A picture?" Zie asked curiously. She walked over slowly, gazing at the white blank side of the photograph. "Of what?"

"It had _better_ not be anything that Master wouldn't want photographed," MiMi warned.

"Pfft. What are you gonna do, make me a sandwich?" Pepper asked.

"_I WILL DESTROY YOU!_" MiMi squeaked.

"Yeah, yeah," Pepper muttered, swishing her hand dismissively.

"Kitty gonna squish you like a raisin!" GIR cheered.

"GIR, raisins are already squished," MiMi remarked.

"Woo!" GIR yelled. "Like a raisin!"

"Okay, it's developing," Pepper whispered. Suddenly, her face fell.

"What?" Quentin asked, eyeing her expression.

Pepper sighed, and flashed the photograph around. "It's still black. I don't know what's wrong."

Zim looked at the camera that was hanging from her uniform's belt. "Lens cap," he observed.

Pepper stood frozen for a few seconds, threw the photograph to the floor, and started screaming and cursing while she stomped out of the bridge.

"So, what was it a picture of, anyway?" Zie asked.

Tak stared at her blankly for a few seconds. "…Nothing."

Zim nodded his head in agreement. "Nothing."


	17. Boom

"And I was like, 'damn'! You know?" Pepper muttered.

"Mmmyeah. No," Mint said cheerfully.

Pepper rolled her eyes and started tapping her foot. Pepper and Mint were leaning against the wall of the cafeteria. They had already eaten, and were waiting for the room to clear out a little bit so that they could visit with a few of their freedom fighting friends.

"How's Audrey?" Pepper asked offhandedly.

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know…?" Mint asked slyly, and giggled.

Pepper guffawed. "Mint, you and I both know that it's nothing like that. Plus, she's _your_ little friend."

"Pfft, _no_. Just 'cause she helps with the music streaming from the fleet doesn't mean we're going _out_ or anything," Mint said with a pout. "She's not interested, anyway."

"So you say," Pepper countered with a raised invisible eyebrow and matching grin.

Mint squeaked something incomprehensible in harmless fury, and then resumed sulking.

"Oi, Mint," Pepper whispered, nudging her in the ribs with her elbow.

Mint looked up curiously. "What?"

"Takkie's being mean to Zim, isn't she?" Pepper ventured, gesturing subtly at the table where Tak, Zim, and Zie were sitting.

"What do you mean? Tak's talking with her mother," Mint noted. "Nice, wholesome family discussion."

"Exactly. I deduce that they're catching up by discussing past events in their lives," Pepper said. "But… watch Zim's reactions whenever Tak gestures toward him and says something."

They watched in silence until they saw Tak do just that, and then saw Zim's expression turn grim. He sank lower on the bench built onto the cafeteria table.

"Gee. I bet she's taking all the subtle little shots at him," Mint growled.

"Yeah. No one can treat Zim like that except you," Pepper muttered.

"Yeah!" Mint squeaked. "Wait…"

Pepper chuckled.

"_Testing, testing… is this thing on?_" Quentin asked over the intercom. "_Oh, er… yeah! We're approaching the time… slot… thing in which we need to begin sending all teams to their ships for the raid! Be advised, all ships need to be ready and combat-effective in two hours!_"

"Oh, well, we'll have to cut your little love-date-arrangement with Audrey, Mint."

"Oh, shut up," Mint returned.

_On the bridge, several hours later…_

"All right, this is it!" Quentin said shakily. "When I engage the engines, this'll be the first time the _Rapture_ has moved from her galactic-synchrous position in five years."

He sat and stared at the big red button in front of and a little bit to the right of his seat at the captain's chair.

"Well?" Zie asked.

He continued staring at it.

"Wimp," Zie muttered, and pushed it.

"_Main reactor shakedown cycle complete. Firing main thrusters, diverting life-support functions to secondary reactors. Power core operating at 68% capacity and increasing. Energy dampening shields operating at 97% capacity and increasing. Setting current position and checking trajectory to next set destination. Checklist complete,_" the onboard computer recited.

"If everything works properly, then…" Quentin muttered.

There was a tiny jarring sensation in the bridge. "_Thrusters engaged. ETA: nine minutes._"

"It's working. It's _working!_" Quentin squealed, and half-hugged Zie from his chair.

"This was a clean suit," Zie muttered.

_Nine minutes later, as the Rapture and its fleet nears the Massive…_

Zim, Tak, Mint, Pepper, GIR, MiMi, and Zie were looking out of the bridge's window at the pink dot that was the Massive. It was steadily becoming larger. Quentin was manning the captain's chair.

"Their proximity alerts will go off in about two minutes, so I'll be quick," Quentin said into the microphone. "I want everyone to check in, and let me know if you have any problems."

"_Lard Nar here,_" he called over the radio. _"The Resisty is standing by!_"

"_Captain Tirq of the _Truth and Reconciliation _here. Everything's a-okay._"

Several more ships and their captains reported in, and then Quentin cleared his throat.

"_Rapture_ copies all. Assume attack vectors," he said grimly. "Thirty seconds to estimated retaliation. Go."

The bridge was completely silent as the other ships sped noiselessly past the _Rapture_ in the vacuum of space. The Massive was entirely visible now, and a few ships had broken away from it in a defensive formation.

A panel in front of Quentin started flashing.

"They're hailing us," Pepper said out loud.

"Ignore it," Quentin muttered.

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light that emanated from the Massive, and disappeared.

"What was…?" Mint asked.

Then, there was a ridiculously powerful explosion of light that cascaded over all of the ships there, and everyone in the bridge had to cover their eyes.

"_EMP!_" someone screamed over the radio. "_We've been EMPed! Electronics are going to go d-…_" The voice faded into static.

The light then disappeared, and everyone opened their eyes to see that the bridge was completely black. Then, red emergency lights flashed on.

It suddenly became slightly colder in the room.

"Okay," Zim said. "Zim isn't _completely _sure that was supposed to happen."

"That was an EMP bomb," Zie growled. "Electromagnetic pulse."

"So?" Tak asked.

"It's knocked out all the electronics for _all_ of the ships here. Both ours and theirs," Quentin whispered. "All of the ships have backup power supplies for minimal life support, but with an EMP… most of them won't engage."

"_Alert. Coolant system is nonresponsive. Reactor one shut down. Reactor two is nonresponsive. Reactor three is nonresponsive. Reactor four shut down._"

"Damn!" Zie exclaimed, causing a few of their group to jump back reflexively. "If those reactors don't shut down before the coolant system comes back online, they'll explo-…"

_BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! OH MY GOD! EXPLOSION! ! FZZZZZZZZZZZZZBORK! __**! **__**!**_

Everyone was silent for about a minute.

Tak glanced at Zim, and he returned her stare.

"What was that?" Mint asked quietly.

"That was reactor three," Quentin stated. "Of course, that was also reactors one, two, and four… but three blew first." Quentin hit one of the blank screens in front of him a few times. It didn't work. "Aw."

"So, you're saying that half of the ship just exploded?" Zie asked.

"Uh…" Quentin said. "Yes."

"_Atmosphere at 98%,_" the miraculously still-alive onboard computer said in its trademark auto-tuned voice. "_A-a-atmosphere at 97%."_ Now the voice was beginning to stutter in a strange, glitchy-sounding way.

"Damn! I knew something like this would happen," Zie complained.

"Sure you did…" Pepper growled.

"No, really. I did. I knew they had EMP charges in the Massive, I just didn't think they'd be stupid enough to detonate one right in front of themselves," Zie muttered.

"Gee, maybe you should have shared that information with us," Pepper snapped.

"I didn't think they would!" Zie shouted back. "…Although, I have an antique imperial spacesuit in my room."

"Why does that help us?" Quentin asked curiously, turning around in the captain's chair.

"It runs without any kind of electronics, so the EMP won't affect it," Zie explained while rushing to the exit. "I'll be right back!"


	18. SUIT UP!

"Okay, Zie, I just want you to calm down. This is going to be very, very tricky. All of the main reactors have been destroyed except the last support reactor… I think I can rig it to work as a main one after you've assessed the damage and signal the other ships for assistance," Quentin said, fishing around in the near-dark for another part of Zie's ancient-looking suit. When he found the right piece, he tried to both look away from Zie and attach it at the same time, which resulted in Zie getting bonked on the forehead by one of the shoulder pads.

"Ow?"

"Sorry."

"You're such a wimp. Just do it. You know I can't move my arms until everything's secured, or it'll fall off…" she growled. "And I _don't _want to have to start over."

Quentin sighed, turned back around, bent over, and picked up another piece of the suit. It was the cloth undershirt to the breastplate. His face fell.

"What's the holdup?" Zie asked, and then she glanced at the item of clothing that Quentin was holding. She chuckled. "It fastens on the back. Calm down."

Quentin sighed again, this time from being relieved. Quentin moved behind her, placed it in the right spot, and tightened the odd clasp around her PAK. He looked back over at the piles – one of the cloth components, and the other of the metal components, and took the last cloth piece – an odd full-torso piece that most closely resembled a pale silver girdle. He wrapped it around Zie and made sure it was tight with a small tug on the base. It didn't stretch an inch.

"I'm about to die," Zie remarked. "And it's cold. Isn't that great?"

"The controls are on the right glove-piece, right? There's a temperature dial," Quentin said, taking a closer look at the piece that lay on the bed. "And that cloth-stuff's filled with insulating goo. I think it'll be stretchier when it's working… at least you're decent," he added.

"Pfft. _Wimp!_" she squeaked, and then inhaled slowly against the tight suit.

"The metal parts are next," Quentin said. He picked up a piece of the torso armor, and examined it carefully. It was a dull, weathered brown color, and it definitely didn't look like it could stand up to the ultimate test of the vacuum of space. He shrugged and fastened the breastplate to the already-attached shoulder plates, and the weight started to pull down slightly, causing Zie to unwillingly slump forward a little bit.

"This weighs a ton," she rasped.

"You have three of the twenty or so metal pieces on," Quentin replied.

She scowled, and he picked up the piece of metal that would be secured on her back. There was a large circle in the center where her PAK should go, and he attached it to the shoulder pads and attached the other clasp that fastened it to her breastplate. The piece of armor fit snugly around her PAK, and she straightened, since the different weights were in balance.

Quentin continued, adding the different heavy plates along her arms and legs, and then she was suited up completely except for her helmet, gloves, and boots.

"Okay, where'd you put the helmet?" Zie asked while gritting her teeth from the hideously heavy weight of the suit.

"Right here," Quentin said, and then walked over to the couch in her living room. He picked it off of the seat, and then looked at it. It was perfectly spherical except for a small metal protrusion where a small, ancient (but still usable) radio was housed. There was also a small, circular, glass viewing window through which Zie could see out of. "But first, the oxygen tank…" he added grimly, glancing at the _other_ metal object on the sofa. He placed the helmet back, and then grabbed the oxygen tank with both hands. "Freshly refilled – it'll give you sixteen hours of air."

"Sixteen? Did you just say _sixteen_?" Zie asked. "How big was it, again?"

Quentin braced himself and tried to pull the tank up with both hands, and he succeeded slowly. "It's… b-big…" he said, trudging towards Zie with the tank. It was half as tall as Zie herself, and as wide as both of them, side by side.

Zie braced herself as Quentin locked the tank to her PAK and upper back, and then her knees began to shake. She compensated quickly, and straightened into a practiced military-like pose. "So-much-hurting-you-won't-believe…" she whispered, both eyes shut tightly.

Quentin started laughing.

"Too-much-pain-to-scream…" she rasped.

"Well, we better get to the airlock," Quentin suggested.

Zie was silent as Quentin picked up the helmet and handed it to her. She accepted it, pushed it into the circle around her collarbone, and turned it once, locking it into place.

_Somewhere Zie has been before… just outside of the Rapture…_

Zie glanced about in the total silence of space. She could see the muted reflections of the other resistance ships, and she unhooked the high-powered flashlight from her suit's belt. She skirted delicately to the top of the part of the ship she was by (although there isn't really any 'up' in space…), and held down the button for six times, for about three seconds each (the Irken pattern for 'current status?'). She waited briefly, and the ships, one after another, flashed lights of different intensities back to her. They were all the same – long, long, short, long, short, short – which meant they were combat effective. So, communications were down, but the mission was still on.

"This is Zie… all of the ships responded. I'm going to check the external damage now…" Zie said into her helmet. She pulled on the cord that tied her to the airlock a little, and once she was back on the side of the ship, she began to pull herself along the ship using the minute indentations as handholds. She reached the end, and what she saw wasn't very encouraging.

"There's… there's… it's gone," Zie said.

"_What do you mean?_" Quentin asked from the bridge while hushing everyone else.

"When the reactors blew… we lost half of the ship," Zie said, looking around carefully. She eventually found what she was looking for. "We have one engine on the belly of the ship, and one reactor left… the rest of the ship is down there."

She gazed intently as roughly a third of the _Rapture_ began to glow brightly as it entered the atmosphere of the watery planet of Nennius. It was mostly water, with a few rocky archipelagos scattered about. It was the closest planet to Irk, and also one of the largest planets in the Irken solar system. There was breathable air; even if you took the atmosphere-adjusting PAK functions out of the equation… there was just one problem. The only points on the planet that were livable were within twelve hundred miles of the north and south poles. The rest of the planet was boiling-hot water, with the water near the equator constantly flashing into steam, fueling the raging storms that covered most of the planet's non-polar regions.

_It's a shame that Rapture's been torn apart_, she thought. ..._But at least it'll make a splash._


	19. Who's Got the Juice?

**[Author's Note:**

**When the gravity goes out, listen to the classical piece, "The Blue Danube". That is all.**

**~ClockwerkOrange]**

"_This is Lard Nar...isty…radio back onli…o you copy?" _Lard Nar called through the radio.

"You radio's screwed up," Pepper mumbled into the microphone.

"_How ab…now?_"

"Screwed up," Pepper repeated.

"…_Esting, testing, one, two, th…_"

"FIX IT AND CALL BACK LATER!" Pepper screamed into the microphone.

"Pepper?" Quentin asked in a sing-song tone, leaning back from the captain's chair to look at the Comms Center where Pepper was sitting. "Are you being nice to the good people on the radio?"

"Of course," Pepper said in mildly sarcastic voice.

"_A-a-atmosph-phere at 87%," _the computer recited.

"Wasn't Zie supposed to fix that?" Pepper asked, pointing at the ceiling.

"Yes… I think she's having some trouble," Quentin commented.

"_This is Zie… I heard that, over,_" she said through the radio.

"Oh, forgot to turn off the microphone," Quentin said sheepishly. "So, how's it going?"

"_Not great. I just sealed a few small tears in the hull with that cement-y goo, and I've confirmed that the last engine will work._"

"So what's the problem?" Quentin asked, while Pepper resumed screaming at people from her seat.

"_Well, the atmosphere keeps going down and I can't isolate the problem._"

"All right… keep trying," Quentin suggested.

The door hissed open, and Mint, Tak, and Zim walked in. Mint was holding a juice box, and she was sucking noisily on it via the attached straw.

"Now where were you three in the dark, low power ship? Oohuhu…" Pepper said suggestively.

"Shut up," Mint said rapidly, and then took her seat at the other communications terminal. She made a loud drinking hiss noise. "'Sup?"

As if to answer her question, suddenly Pepper's chair began floating up.

"Pepper… are you… flying?" Mint asked curiously, aiming her head up to follow Pepper's ascent. Pepper panicked, and feverishly began examining her chair. Her head bonked the ceiling, and she started to slowly float down.

"_Ow?_" Pepper shouted.

"_Ar-ar-artificial gravity systems offline,_" the onboard computer stuttered. "_Atmosph-phere at 86%," _it added.

"Gravity's off," Quentin said in a matter-of-fact tone just as he floated sideways past Mint.

"Wow, that's funny. If you stay really, really still, you won't move," Mint said excitably.

"Uh, yeah. If you don't move, you won't move," Pepper said flatly, rolling her eyes. Her chair hit the floor again, and she started to spin slowly.

Suddenly, Zim spoke up. "…Where's GIR and MiMi?"

Tak was about to reply, but then exhaled. "Erm… I don't know."

Quentin sighed. "Um… that EMP blast might have shorted them out. They're probably around here somewhere."

Tak suddenly gave off an expression of being shattered mentally.

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down," Quentin suggested. "Like I said, they're probably just shorted out. With a few circuits replaced, they'll run fine."

Tak sighed.

"That's so cute," Mint said, and then slurped on her juice box again. Pepper's chair – now separated from Pepper, who was trying to float back to the ground to no avail – swished into Mint's hand and knocked her juice box away. "My juice!" she exclaimed, trying to reach for it. That subtle action caused her and her chair to float up slightly and begin rotating slowly. The juice box started floating to a blank wall to the left of all of the consoles, and hit it with a small waxed-papery-sounding bonk.

That was when Pepper's foot – which was flailing around, of course – came in contact with the ceiling, and she began flying towards the wall. "No, no, no, no," she begged, and then hit the juice box. The juice went flying out of the box, and stayed suspended in the air.

"I… I am amazed that none of that got on me," Pepper said blankly, now floating slightly away from the wall, inertia canceled out by the impact.

But the juice didn't _stay_ still.

It began floating toward the closed door, and hissed through the crack in the center.

"Follow that juice!" Quentin shouted.

"Why?" Tak asked blankly.

"Just do it," Quentin said in an exasperated tone.

They swam and climbed through the room, and through the door.

"There's the, um… the juice," Pepper muttered, pointing at the retreated orange blob.

"Why's it moving?" Zim asked.

"Vacuum," Quentin explained. "It's moving toward the leak in the hull."

"Verily! Onward, brave souls, tonight we dine on juice!" Mint squeaked, and attempted to run along the bottom of the hall, but eventually she settled into a half-swimming technique.

They followed the juice as it rounded a corner in the hallway, and they watched it start going for the ceiling. It went through with a hiss.

"That's the leak, then," Quentin said grimly. He pulled out a walkie-talkie-ish device and pressed the button. "Zie, we've found the leak. It's right above corridor two, about halfway down it."

There were a few scratchy sounds from Zie's movement inside the suit. "_Say again? It's kind of hard to see a tiny hole along the entire ship._"

"Okay… let me see…" Quentin said.

"_Alert, superconductor coolant system failing in corridors two and th-three,_" the computer stated.

"Well, isn't that just our luck," Pepper growled.

A panel on the ceiling a little ways down the hall started to glow white-hot and melt.

"Oh, fu-…!" Pepper screamed, but was cut off by the explosion.

"_Run!_" Tak screamed, and then started flailing hopelessly in the gravity-lacking air.

There was a hideously-loud rushing sound as the atmosphere in the hall started to be sucked out of the basketball-sized hole in the ceiling.

"_Zie, can you see the hole now?_" Quentin screamed into the walkie-talkie.

"_Uh, that would be a 'yes',_" Zie stated.

"_DO SOMETHING, THEN!_"

The group started to slowly be pulled to the hole.

"No, no, no, no…!" Pepper shouted, clawing feverishly at the floor. "No-no-no-_no,_ dammit!"

Suddenly, the rushing stopped.

"_Tada,_" Zie said flatly through the walkie-talkie.

"_Atmosphere at 91%,_" the computer informed them.

Pepper squealed from happiness and grabbed the walkie-talkie. "Oh, Zie, I'm so happy I could kiss you!"

"_Er. Don't get any funny ideas._"

After the cheers had subsided, they began swim-flailing back to the bridge.

"_Artificial gravity systems online,_" the computer chirped, and they thudded to the floor unceremoniously.

"Ow," Pepper groaned.


	20. Staying

"Good news, everyone," Quentin said as he walked into the bridge and fell onto his chair. "We've restored communications and power throughout the fleet, and we've also confirmed that the Massive's weapons are still offline, and the Imperial Fleet's power is still… not good. I've also found MiMi and GIR."

A few grins went across the group.

"Are they okay?" Tak asked skeptically.

"Oh, yeah," Quentin said, and then tapped the intercom button. "MiMi and GIR, report to the bridge."

"Come _on!_ Let's stomp those Imperial cockroaches right now!" Pepper roared, returning to the subject at hand.

"Well, we're going to – once everyone has their boarding parties set up," Quentin explained.

Zim and Tak were casually sitting together on one of the smallish tables in the bridge, when Zie – who had snuck behind them – tapped Tak on the shoulder.

"Tak, I want to talk to you," she said, and waited for Tak to respond. Tak looked up at her with a quizzical expression, but silently hopped off of the table and walked with her to the side of the room. Zie had her back turned when she stopped at the wall. "Tak, do you think you're going to fly a ship during the assault?" Zie asked nonchalantly.

"Of course," Tak answered. "Why wouldn't I?" She paused for a moment. "Why would you ask that?"

"Tak… I don't want you to go," Zie said meekly.

"Why not?" Tak asked.

Zie turned around and fell on one knee. She looked up at Tak sadly. "I worked for years trying to find you. I spent time and effort… I had to falsify records to keep you from being executed when the Empire was checking out your history. I don't want to lose you again – wasn't once enough?"

"I know you don't want me to be hurt, but I'm an experienced pilot," Tak argued. "I want to take part in the attack; it's going to make history."

"Yes, but I want the attack to end up in history, not you," Zie pleaded. "I want you to be safe. You'll be safe here, I know. And who else will look after GIR and MiMi while everyone else is gone?"

"What about Zim?" Tak ventured.

Zie inhaled sharply. "I think he should stay as well. You seem to like him; it shouldn't be a problem…?"

"Fine. I'll be a good girl and stay home where it's nice and safe," Tak muttered.

Zie smiled and stood back up. "I know you don't want to miss the action, but it's the right thing to do," Zie urged. She clapped a hand down on her daughter's shoulder. "Don't think that I'm any less proud of you. You're a strong girl, and I'm glad you turned out this way."

Tak blushed and turned to her side. "You're embarrassing me," she said flatly.

Zie bent down slightly and hugged Tak. "I know," she said warmly.

"Alright!" Pepper shouted. "Let's bounce!"

Tak and Zie joined the rest of the group as they walked down the hallway.

Zie looked back. "Ah, ah, ah…" Zie chastised with a shake of her head. She pointed at the door next to them. Tak's room. "This is where you get off."

Tak rolled her eyes. "I know."

Zie smiled once more, and then looked down the hallway. "_Quentin!_"

"What?" he answered unenthusiastically. He turned around and looked at Zie while Pepper and Mint continued walking down the hallway, talking about the impending attack.

"Quentin, you need to stay here – at the bridge – in case the _Rapture_ needs to move," Zie reminded him.

"Oh, yeah," he said blankly. "Right-o!"

He started to walk past them, but Zie caught him and pecked him once on the lips.

"Fffb-b…?" Quentin asked, dumbstruck.

"For good luck," Zie whispered.

Quentin giggled like a schoolgirl as Zie brushed past him.

While Quentin tried –and failed, a couple of times – to regain his composure, Zim walked up audibly as his boots tapped rhythmically on the floor. "What now?" he asked.

"GIR and MiMi will be going to the bridge, and Father needs to go there as well, so I think we should… go to the bridge!" Tak suggested.

"So… we won't be in the battle?" Zim asked.

Tak paused in the middle of her step. "N-no. Mother thinks that it will be safe-… unnecessary for us to take part in it."

"I see," Zim replied. He glanced at Quentin, and pointed at him. "Eh. What's wrong with him?"

_On the Massive…_

"Woo!" Purple screamed, and dove out of Red's line of sight just as he spun around.

"Purple," Red muttered. "I know you're there. Give me the flashlight."

"No," he said childishly, and crossed his arms.

"Fine. Keep it, then," Red muttered.

Purple glanced at him from his hiding spot. "Something wrong, Red?"

"Nothing," Red growled. "Nothing at all."

"Sirs, low-level systems are back online. Life support, artificial gravity, and communications were unharmed in the close-range blast, but our shields are blown out," the messenger drone reported with a quick salute, and then dashed away.

"Yes, I know," Red said dryly, but he was already gone. He looked at Purple – or, at least, the general area in the communications room full of chairs and tables that he believed he was hiding – and grinned. "Excellent thinking, Purple. I would never have thought to direct our shields around one spot and detonate a close-range EMP bomb."

"Well, _thank_ you…" Purple said un-modestly, crossing his arms, as if he was finally being thanked for some amazing accomplishment. "I'm glad someone finally acknowledges my genius."

"Yes, but although it was a good idea, I think our chances at this point are sufficiently… not-good," Red said, stroking his chin. "If they're smart, and – although I'm loathe to admit it – I think they are, they'll strike soon…"

"I gotta flashlight," Purple said, clicked it on, and began waving it.

"So you do," Red said while still deep in thought. "So you do…"

**[Author's Note from the Tropical Rain-Fortress:**

**Oh, yes, readers, I'm sure you enjoyed the brand new chapter – fresh 'n' juicy – and I hope you can tell that the ending is almost upon us. At this point, I could see two, **_**maybe**_** three chapters before it's **_**all over.**_** Mwah! I'm also very sorry about how long it took me to get this chapter done – number twenty, can you believe it? – done, but don't worry: the story will definitely be finished, and it will be some of my greatest work ever! I actually have a mental-brain-problem about my work being horribly inferior to everyone else's! Isn't that great? Yep, I always finish a story and tell myself, "Hmm, I think I did pretty well." However, a few hours to a week later, it hits. That horrible moment where I read over it again, and notice something terrible.**

"**My God… where's the **_**CONFLICT? NEEDS MORE BADLINESS!**_**"**

"**Oh, no. Oh, God no… n-no… NO, NO, NO! **_**NOT ENOUGH DETAILS! NOOOOOOoooo…**_**"**

"**Excuse me, good sir; I seem to have misplaced my **_**CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!**_**"**

"_**$%^#**_**! Shoulda had everyone die at the end…"**

**I have this problem about every single one of my stories, except this one.**

…**But it isn't done yet, is it?**

**So, please, dear reader… p-p-please tell m-me what you th-think…**

…**I can… *Sniff*… t-take it…**

**No, unlike some authors, I like it when someone finds fault with my story. Okay, that's a lie. But when someone finds fault with it, it means I can fix it. You know?**

**I'm rambling. I know I am.**

…

**I'm done.**

**~ClockwerkOrange]**


	21. Unbroken

"Squadron, check in," Quentin murmured into the microphone.

There was a dull click and static, and then the group members started to reply.

"_Alpha here_," Zie said. "_Everything's okay so far_."

"_Beta here_," Pepper growled. "_All… stuff… isn't bad_."

"_Gamma! I'm Gamma_," Mint squeaked. "_Hi."_

"_Stevie h-… _Wow_, this ship is so _cool_!_" Dib yelled.

"Yes, yes, it is very cool," Quentin agreed. "Would you like to begin the mission now?"

"_Er…_" Dib said.

"_WHAT THE FWaaaaah-…!_" Zie shouted, her curse word interrupted by a small explosion. "_Dodge them! DODGE THEM!_"

"_Dodge what?_!" Pepper asked feverishly.

"What's going on? Someone? Explain? _Please_?" Quentin yelled.

_Meanwhile, in the _Rapture_'s main kitchen…_

"GIR!" Zim squeaked. "Come out!"

Silence.

"This is insubordination, GIR!" Zim screeched while riffling through the cabinets. "Dish soap, dishwasher, dish rack, dishes…" Zim growled. "_GIR!_"

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeees?" GIR asked.

Zim spun around and saw GIR standing in the middle of the kitchen, wearing his green dog disguise; he had a blank look across his face. "GIR! Where is Tak's MiMi robot?"

"Well, I was walking to the kitchen 'cause I wanted some piggies, aaaaaaaaaaannnnnnd…."

"Why would you go to the kitchen for piggies?" Zim asked skeptically.

GIR cleared his throat.

"Sorry, continue."

"Anyways, I was looking for some piggies and kitty found all this blue dish soap. It was fun! Woo!" GIR screamed.

"I don't see any soap," Zim murmured. "Wait… where's MiMi?"

"Oh, you wanted to know where she _was_?" GIR asked.

Zim growled in disgust. "I'd try to fix you again if I was sure you wouldn't try to kill me. _Yes!_ I want to know where MiMi is."

"I _think_ that _maybe_ she _could___be going to the scary purple lady's room… _I think…_" GIR said.

"Good enough!" Zim declared. "Come, GIR!"

"Yes, my master!" GIR said, saluting.

_In Pepper's SRT-17 Fighter…_

"Oh, hell…" Pepper muttered. Her right hand danced across a keyboard as she directed the energy shields to focus along the front of the ship. "Stupid ancient piece of…"

"_Missiles, Pepper! Missiles!_" Mint yelled through the radio.

"I know. Set your shields to cover the front of the ship. We're gonna crash right through them," Pepper growled. She glanced back up through the windshield and noted the hundreds of pinpricks of light that were zooming through the space toward them.

"_Can't we just avoid them?_"

Pepper shook her head, even though Mint wouldn't be able to see the action through the radio. "No, Mint. They're heat-seeking missiles… look at how they're clustering together." She sighed, and pushed the control stick as far as it would go, and the engines began to scream in protest. "_FOR THE RESISTANCE! WOO_!"

While Pepper was nodding her head approvingly, noting how those were some pretty badass words to go out on, a large Vortian cruiser zoomed right past her ship in the silent vacuum.

"_Direct energy shields to starboard side! Brace for impa-…_"

Silence was all that emanated from Lard Nar's ship as fire cascaded over the side, and then the inferno was swept away like sand as the ship continued moving, mildly unscratched.

"_That was awesome!_" someone yelled through the radio, completely ruining the dramatic silence.

"Hah!" Pepper cheered. "Zie! Zie, the missiles are gone. Isn't that…"

Pepper paused as a shockwave sped through her.

"Zie?"

_On the _Rapture_…_

"You… what… how do you mean that?" Quentin asked.

"_She hasn't responded, and I can't find her Friend or Foe ship tag on the radar, and we're still out here and I don't..."_ Pepper said feverishly.

"_Pepper!_" Quentin shouted.

Pepper breathed uneasily on the other end. "_Yes?"_

"J-just… just the… finish the mission," Quentin murmured.

"_But Zie's gone! She just isn't here; I can't tell if she's d-…"_

"_MISSION! THE MISSION!_"

"_Okay, fine, fine…_"

_A couple of minutes later on the _Rapture_…_

_Beep beep._

"Ugh," Tak muttered. She sat up on the sofa. "Why am I always asleep when someth-…"

She glanced at the communicator on the coffee table and pressed the button on it. It projected an image a few inches away from it; an image of none other than the Almighty Tallest – Red.

"Morning, Tak," Red said. "But is it ever really 'morning' in space?"

"You have five seconds to tell me why I shouldn't hang up right now," Tak muttered blearily.

"We have your mother," Red announced.

Tak nearly choked on the air. "You wh-what?"

"It was easy, really – I won't bore you with the details, but I'll only keep her alive if you come to the Massive. _Alone._"

"Come to the Massive in the middle of a battle? Are you kidding?" Tak asked incredulously. "How are you even contacting me, anyway? Your power's supposed to be out."

"'Supposed' is the key word," Red commented dryly, and then smirked. "You hurry up, and remember to come alone… Tak," he said, putting mocking emphasis on her name.

The screen went blank.

"_Zim!_" Tak shouted.

"Tak, I have a few things to say to you!" Zim yelled; he walked into the room with a swagger that still seemed uniform and militant. He was tugging GIR along by the arm. "Tak, do you remember when I said that I 'broke'?"

"This isn't really the time, but yes," Tak confirmed.

"Right," Zim muttered. "I'm unbroken now."

"Look, Zim, we have a _big _problem…"

"I'm a _mooooooooooose…_" GIR whispered.

"No. I have no 'problem' now. I am Zim. Zim has no problem," Zim replied.

"Zim. This is important."

Zim sighed. "Fine. The great Zim has decided to listen to your request." He paused expectantly.

"Red has my mother."

Zim's eyes widened. "The Almighty Tallest has captured your mother? Why?"

"Probably as some sort of bargaining chip… but he wants me to come to the Massive."

"Zim will escort you there," he stated.

Tak rolled her eyes and stood up from the sofa.

"That is, if you want to go," Zim added; MiMi entered the room about that time.

"Yay! We's gonna save the scary purple lady's scary gray mommy! _Woo!_" GIR shouted.

"You're seriously going to have to do something about him, because he's starting to drive me insane," MiMi stated.

"It looks like we're going to the Massive," Tak muttered.

**[Author's Note:**

***Fireplace + leather chair, book, and monocle.***

**Oh, hello, I didn't see you there. Do you think that Tak and Zim will succeed in their amazing quest… or… not be… succeeding… at… it? Hm?**

**Mhm. Mhm. Hmmmm…**

**~ClockwerkOrange]**


	22. Unstable

"Right," Tak said. She tapped a few buttons on the console in front of her, and the ship's engines began to whir through their warm up stages.

"Are you sure Quentin won't notice us leaving?" MiMi asked.

"Taco taco taco," GIR said.

"No, he'll be too busy making sure everyone's doing the right thing to notice us leave," Tak stated, still engrossed in making sure the ship lifted off properly.

"Maybe he will not mistake the _mighty Zim_'s vessel as one of the _enemy_'s…" Zim noted.

The ship's engines hissed further as the vehicle began to tilt from the uneven liftoff.

"Grr…" Tak growled. "I think I got it."

The bay doors opened automatically when the ship's computer sent a liftoff beacon to the _Rapture'_s main computer, and they zoomed through it easily. After they were away, she opened the channel for the resistance.

"_How long do we hang back for?_" someone asked.

"_A couple of hours,_" someone answered. "_Something's happened…"_

Tak clicked it off. That was all she needed to hear. She knew that Quentin was no fool, he knew that there was a possibility that Zie was on the Massive – a possibility that Tak knew was a fact.

"_Attention, small ship-person. Identify yourselves – we are in the middle of a dangerous situation,_" someone from the Massive said through the radio.

"This is Tak; I'm coming as per the Almighty Tallest's request."

"_I understand. You have clearance to come aboard._"

_Aboard the Massive…_

"The Almighty Tallest is right in here," the courier drone muttered, gesturing to the large sliding door before the group.

Tak and Zim nodded, and GIR and MiMi followed as they walked to the door. It slid open with a small hiss, and they walked through. Their footsteps tapped with a light _clink-clink _on the metallic floor. They paused in the center of the room when they saw Red in front of his desk, hands clasped behind his back. He was staring off into space – literally – through the window that covered most of the room.

"Tak," Red said quietly.

Tak kept silent.

"I see you brought friends," he noted. "Zim, I suppose. Maybe your SIR unit… 'friends'…"

"My Tallest," Zim muttered, nodding his head. Tak elbowed him in the ribs, earning a mouthed "What?" from Zim.

Red let loose an audible sigh. "Have you ever seen my old speeches? I used to give great speeches."

Zim shot Tak a curious glance, and Tak returned it with a shrug.

"Computer, play the speech from the first conquering of the Vortian Empire, before my stupid advisors liberated them, and then conquered them again…"

"_Yes, my Tallest…_" the computer chirped.

The large window darkened, obscuring the stars, and then lit up. Almighty Tallest Red – with the ever-present Purple standing next to him – stood in front of a massive audience. His face was on every single one of the monitors in the huge stadium that surrounded them.

"_My fellow Irkens,_" he began; the uncountable crowd quieted almost instantly. "_Today marks the first day of the new Irken Empire."_

The cheers were deafening, but Red raised his hand for silence, which, again, came almost immediately.

"_And although Almighty Tallest Miyuki did not live to see this momentous day, I hope that her memory will live on in the hearts and minds of all the brave Irken soldiers who will continue on,"_ Red said. He cleared his throat and glanced around intensely. "_However, no more will the Irken Empire be taken advantage of because of its peaceful history. I think that it is obvious to everyone – with the hostile takeover of Almighty Tallest Spork as proof – that we must adapt or die._"

The crowd stayed silent – a silence created from shock and uncertainty.

"_Yes. I am not going to lie; I am not going to sugarcoat it. Almighty Tallest Spork and his conspirators were executed for crimes against the Empire. I was finally given permission to disclose the actions that were taken recently. Neither Miyuki nor Spork was killed by Zim's insane blob monster. That was a cover-up explanation. Miyuki was assassinated by Spork and his conspirators, and he was, in turn, executed for his crimes. The reasoning behind this – the execution of a _Tallest – _is th-…_"

"Stop it," Red muttered. "Old news."

"I don't care about your speeches!" Tak yelled. "Where's my mother?"

Red spun around. His stance and expression was that of a fatigued, tortured person, but his eyes were intense and focused. "How should _I _know?"

Tak guffawed. "You told me to come here because you said th-…"

"I lied to get you to come here," Red said dismissively with a wave of his hand. He turned back around and stared at himself on the screen, face frozen.

Tak stared at him blankly. "Th-then where's my mother?"

"I don't know; she disappeared from our radar," Red said. "Dead, probably."

"D-d-…" Tak stammered. She fell to her knees.

"I mean, what else could have happened to her?" Red asked flatly. "Now, you're all going to be my hostages. I'm not going to die because of your daddy's cute little takeover. I think th-…"

"You… you _bastard_," Zim said quietly. He was crouched down next to Tak, who was then crying quietly into the floor.

"What did you just say?" Red asked, more in surprise than anger.

"How could you…?" Zim asked. "This isn't what the Almighty Tallest should do."

"What do you know about what an Almighty Tallest should do?" Red asked mockingly. "You're the one who screwed up Operation: Impending Doom I. You have no room to talk about what _I _should and shouldn't do."

"The Tallest is supposed to have honor. He – or she – is supposed to care about the Empire above all else. The Almighty Tallest is the head of the Empire not just because they're the tallest; they're the head of the Empire because they know that they were given a job to do, and they are supposed to fulfill it to the best of their ability… and if they cannot…" Zim paused. "They're supposed to commit suicide."

Red looked like he was about to explode, but he started laughing. "Oh, oh, Zim… that's _rich!_" He paused, gasping for breath after a wild fit of hysterical laughter. "No… n-no. Zim. You just don't get how it works, do you? The Tallest doesn't run anything! My 'advisors' – more like my _wardens_ – tell me to do everything I do! I learned how to play ball after a few years in my position. If I don't play by their rules, I'll be found dead in my room one day… fighting it is no use."

"Then why not join the resistance?" MiMi asked. "They could use-…"

"…Someone like _me_?" Red asked. He laughed some more. "No. No, all of the hatred in the Empire is focused on me. Once someone kills me – whether it be the silly 'resistance' or my own advisors – they'll find another person to fill my spot; maybe someone a bit easier to control."

"And the Massive is your gilded cage…" GIR stated poetically.

Zim did a double take at him, and then shrugged. "Almighty Tallest Miyuki wouldn't have wanted it to be this way," he added.

Red stared at him blankly, and then roared something incomprehensible. He swept everything off of his desk, and papers, notices, petitions, suggestions, letters, and a small computer landed – and crashed – onto the ground. "_MIYUKI WAS LIKE A MOTHER TO ME! OF COURSE I KNOW WHAT SHE WOULD HAVE WANTED!_" he shouted. He grabbed his desk and tried to pick it up while caught in the hideous rage he was in. "_SHE WAS TOO GOOD FOR THE IRKEN EMPIRE – TOO GOOD FOR THIS UNIVERSE!" _He yanked on the desk, and the corner of it landed on the small computer that had already fallen to the floor with a metallic crash. "I… I wish she could be here… I wish she could tell me wh-what to do…" he said. He sat down at his desk's chair; the only intact object left near him.

Everything was silent except for Tak's soft cries.


	23. Splosion

_Several hours earlier…_

From the force of the explosion, Zie was thrown forward in her seat; her seatbelt knocked the wind out of her.

"Damn… I didn't even see that missile! Pepper, what's going on?" Zie shouted.

Silence.

"Pepper?"

Zie frowned and ran a quick diagnostic through the onboard computer.

"Communications are offline…?"

Zie heard a quiet sizzling sound, and then another explosion sounded from within her ship. The ship began turning from the force, but then another explosion from the other side made the ship stop turning. However, there was enough of a delay between the blasts, and a difference in their power that caused her trajectory to shift from the Massive to the watery planet of Nennius.

"No…"

_Back on the Massive…_

"I don't want to die," Red stated, breaking the silence. "It's natural to want to live."

Tak remained preoccupied on the floor while Zim glared at Red.

"With you all as hostages, perhaps I can distract the resistance long enough for our weapons to come online," Red muttered. "I'm surprised how quickly we were able to restore power…"

"Or…" Zim said.

"Or what?" Red asked.

"Where are the high-ranking officials that are ruining the Empire?" Zim asked.

"On the Massive, now," Red said absently. "They fled here when we set the EMP off – probably figured it was the safest place. There's about ten of the most corrupt ones, and then they have an entire chain of idiots who want a little smidgen of power to themselves… but, yes. They're all on the Massive right now. Your resistance friends can't touch them."

"But you can," Zim pointed out.

Red turned his head to look at Zim. "Zim; always the clever one. I knew you were special since you laid waste to your own home planet!" he said, and then laughed, shaking his head.

"Can't you, as the Almighty Tallest, key in self-destruct codes to ships in the Armada?" Zim asked.

Red froze. "You aren't seriously suggesting th-…" He paused.

"You said it yourself, my Tallest – if you do not do what they want you to do, they will kill you. If you are killed, they will find another."

Red turned away from the group and stared blankly at his overturned desk. He bent down slightly and picked up a communicator that most closely resembled a walkie-talkie, and clicked it on. "This is the Almighty Tallest authorizing a departure from the Massive – two SIR units; two Irkens – in five minutes. Prepare the launch bay for their exit." He let go of the device, and it clattered onto the floor. He buried his face in his hands. "Go."

Even Tak had to postpone her misery at Red's order.

"Are you-…?" Zim asked.

"Go!" Red shouted, cutting him off.

"Yes, my Tallest," Zim said quietly. He pulled Tak to her feet and guided her out, SIR units close behind.

As the door slid shut behind them, Zim could have sworn he had heard Red begin to cry.

An imperial soldier was at the door, waiting for them. "Sir, ma'am… SIRs," he said. "I'm to guide you to the launch bay."

_Twenty minutes later, in Red's study…_

"Purple," Red called evenly.

"Yep?" Purple asked. "I'm just breezing through –I got some donuts."

"Yes… Purple, if we had to quit being the Tallest for a while and go somewhere else… what would you say to that?"

"A vacation?" Purple asked curiously. "That'd be great."

Red chuckled. "Yes, I suppose it is sort of a vacation. An extended one."

"Even better," Purple commented.

Red grinned.

_On an imperial shuttle heading toward the _Rapture_…_

"I c-can't… b-b…" Tak stuttered.

"Tak," Zim said, trying really hard to sound compassionate and soothing. "Please. It's going to be alright."

"Easy for you to say!" Tak yelled, standing up from the bench on the inside of the shuttle. "You d-don't even _have_ parents!"

Zim frowned. "No, I don't," he admitted. "However! She would not have wanted you to go to pieces like this. She would have wanted you to have continued in her honor. Knowing her, she would most likely want you to kill those responsible."

"We just left 'those responsible'!" Tak shouted. "Stop this, Zim," she whispered, suddenly sounding fatigued. "My m-mother… she's dead."

_Beep. Beep._

"_Alert – ship marked as 'Enemy' in Friend or Foe tag list has activated their tracking tags; repeat, enemy vessel has appeared on radar,_" the computer recited.

"An enemy? Why?" MiMi asked, looking over the monitor. "Wait – this is an imperial ship. They must be from the resistance. We're not armed – they won't shoot us."

Zim sighed from relief, but sighed again when he eyed the downcast Tak.

"_Stupid machine… I'll tear your wires out,_" a familiar voice growled. "_This is Captain Zie of the… uh… the… look, I don't care who you are, just _help_ me!_"

Tak's eyes lit up. "Sh-she's…" She ran over to the console. "Mother! I thought you were… gone… where are you?"

"_Tak? I thought I told you to stay on the _Rapture_!" _she snapped.

"I'm sorry; I'll explain later. Where are you?"

"_My ship's destroyed – I escaped to the… well, the escape pod. My fighter wasn't that big to start with, and this lifepod's even smaller. It informs me that I'm falling toward the planet Nennius._"

"Oh, no…" Tak whispered. "Mother, can you try to land at the part of the planet that has relatively calm waters?"

"_A planet is big. Very big. The window is facing away from the planet; I only have the computer to map my progress. I don't know how far above the planet I am – I might crash… er… _splash_ onto it in five seconds, or a couple of hours. I'll keep uploading my current latitude and longitude to you._"

"Okay. You might want to contact Quentin, too. I'll bet he's worried sick."

Zie chuckled. "_I might just do that._"

_Near the _Rapture…

"_All ships, be advised – _Rapture_ is moving to provide a smaller gap in case a retreat is required. We have reason to believe that the Massive has regained power to their primary systems. Stay frosty._"

"_Understood._"

"_Yessir._"

"_All clear._"

Rapture's crippled engine could move the ship enough; however, one of the pipes containing the ship's compressed liquid fuel had been scratched.

Blue fluid dribbled out of it and froze in the cold void of space, and then broke. A few large chunks of frozen fuel, shaped like bent pipes, floated down behind the ship, right behind the last engine.

When it turned on, the blaze of the engine caused the frozen fuel to detonate, causing the _Rapture_ to almost go to pieces. It stayed together, however, but the last engine was destroyed, and it began to zoom rapidly from the explosion.

Of course it would have to be going toward Nennius.

_On the Massive, in Red's study…_

"Purple, you're my best friend. It has been great to lead the Empire with you," Red said evenly. He held his pocket computer in his left hand.

"Geez, Red," Purple said. "You're not going soft on me, are you?"

"Shut up, stupid," Red offered.

"Better!" Purple commented.

Red placed his right hand on Purple's shoulder. "You know that vacation I was talking about?" He left his hand there.

"Sure," Purple said. "Was that finalized?" He laughed. "So, when do we go?"

"Right now," Red said. His hand dropped from Purple's shoulder.

He held the pocket computer in his left hand, and began rapidly keying in codes with his right hand.

The lights in the Massive went off.

"_All non-primary systems have been deactivated. Activating backup lights," _the computer chirped.

Soft red lights went on.

"Red, did you do that?" Purple asked.

Red didn't respond.

"Red, what's going on?" Purple asked.

Red didn't respond; he began to key in codes faster.

"Red; seriously, what's going on?" Purple asked again.

Red sighed – the last string of commands was visible on the screen.

He turned and looked at Purple.

"We're leaving."

Purple frowned. "This is about that vacation? You do realize I was kidding, right? A vacation in the middle of a battle seems kind of… not good. Where would we go, anyway?"

Red smiled and looked him dead in the eye.

"Over the stars," he said softly, and then pressed the **SUBMIT** key.

_Boom._


	24. Endgame

"Black out everything! If _any_ word of what's going on reaches the general public…" the Irken information supervisor muttered. "Well, it won't be nice! Just stop all of our feeds."

"All of them?" an intern chirped.

"_All of them!_" the supervisor snapped.

A secretary stopped next to the supervisor. "But, is it true?"

"I don't know," she said weakly.

_Nennius…_

"You know, Quentin, if we both waltz out of this interesting scenario alive-…"

_Splash._

"Damn it!"

_On Tak and Zim's shuttle…_

"The Irken Battle Network is in an uproar," Tak said. She hit a hot pink button.

"_What just happened?_"

"_Wh-what the _hell _is going on? We just lost 93% operational status…_"

"_The shock wave's still expanding! Max out all of your little thrusty engine things!_"

"_The Massive's… gone! What-…_"

She hit it again, shutting off the connection to the channel.

"My Tallest," Zim noted with a subtle nod of his head. "For great justice."

"I _do_ like binary systems," GIR replied.

MiMi quirked her head. "So, the Tallest sacrificed themselves for the good of the Empire." She snorted. "Didn't see that one coming."

"Do not speak of the Tallest in that manner," Zim said. "We are the only ones who know the truth. All of the galaxy believes them to be evil, but they are wrong."

"True," MiMi said. "But they took too long to change the status quo."

"Calm down, MiMi. Let's focus on my mother's predicament, first," Tak suggested. She pushed the 'transmit' button. "Oh, mother?"

"_I'm tired, I could go for a sandwich, and I'm running out of oxygen,_" Zie stated. "_I mean, I could really, really go for a sandwich._"

"What do you mean you're running out of oxygen?" Tak asked.

Zim quirked an invisible eyebrow at the mention of oxygen. He recalled that Earth had oxygen as well – yet one more thing that humans and the vastly superior Irken race had in common. He shook his head. It was just too bad they were so stupid. That's when he realized that his Voot Runner had been sitting in the _Squish's _landing bay when it had exploded. He frowned.

"_Splash-crashed onto Nennius. Floatin' on the water. Not too much air left._"

"Doesn't the escape pod have a door?"

"_Yep._"

"Can you open it?"

"_Nope._"

"Can you force it open?_"_

"_Tried._"

"How'd it go?"

"_Not too good._"

"Oh," Tak said. One of the panels on the console in front of her started to flash. She touched it.

"_Tak, you are in massive trouble when you get back,_" Quentin said.

Tak frowned. "Look, I'm sorry, but-…"

"…_Is what I would have said if the _Rapture _wasn't super-damaged and already sinking down Nennius's gravity well," _he finished matter-of-factly.

"I see," Tak said, and then turned around in her chair. She nodded to everyone. "Well, both of my parents are either already crashed on Nennius, or are going to do so very, very soon."

Everyone nodded.

"That isn't a good thing," Tak stated.

GIR started screaming.

_Nennius..._

Zie viciously kicked upward from her vantage point – laying on the bottom of the lifepod. Her foot bounced off of the hard plastic-glass stuff of the escape pod's window. She kicked again, and this time the glass cracked a tiny bit in the center. Condensation was beginning to build up on the glass, and she felt herself having to breathe in more and more to stay conscious.

Dark tendrils began to creep in through the corners of her vision, and she smashed viciously at the window repeatedly, and the crack spread. Right about when she was about to pass out, the glass shattered and clattered to the floor in tiny pieces.

A few seconds later – after catching her breath – she felt the lifepod bob up and down in the water for a few seconds, and then settle. She poked her head up out of the window.

_On Tak and Zim's shuttle…_

The shuttle glided effortlessly past the flat, watery landscape – or, rather, waterscape – as the group within began to search for Zie's down craft.

"Zie is showing up on the radar," MiMi pointed out, gesturing to the blinking dot on the circular radar on the console in front of Tak.

"Good," Tak said. "I think the water's preventing her from transmitting anything – it must have broken when it hit the water."

"Good news," Zim said, looking out of the shuttle's side window.

"What?" Tak asked.

"The _Rapture_ beat us to Nennius," Zim stated, pointing to the whale-like silhouette on the horizon. He noticed a very, very long wake behind it. "Looks like it skidded for a while."

Tak glanced out of the right side of the craft's windshield, and nodded. "I don't think it's sinking; it must still be airtight on the bottom."

"I like sinking," GIR said, downcast.

"Then we can throw you off," MiMi muttered.

GIR squealed in delight while Tak glared at her.

"Oh, come on," MiMi whined. "_Please_?"

The dot on the radar came closer and closer, until Tak manipulated the controls so that the thrusters would angle the opposite direction to bring them to a halt. She tapped on a few more interesting buttons, and the craft began to gradually lose altitude while it started to move forward very, very slowly.

As they approached the water, they could see the distinct glint of the dark pink lifepod, with none other than Captain Zie standing on top of it, waving at the shuttle with both hands. Zim ran to the back of the ship and pulled the door-release lever. There was a sharp hiss as the pressures equalized, and the hatch began to lower slowly into a ramp. Tak turned the shuttle around and angled it forward to straighten it and cancel its velocity. It hovered just above the water next to Zie's lifepod, causing the water nearby to rush around from the power of the thrusters.

Zim turned his attention to the sopping-wet captain, and helped her aboard the shuttle.

"I don't suppose," Zie said slowly, trying to wipe the water off of her left glove with her also-wet right glove, "you have any towels?" She spied Zim's perplexed expression, and then at her own damp clothing. "I fell in. Is that a problem?" she asked no one in particular. Rather than wait for an answer, she glanced at Tak with a 'we-are-not-amused' expression. "Zim; take the controls, would you kindly?"

Zim, who didn't like to be pushed around (but who was also secretly terrified of Tak's mother) paced over to the chair, gestured for Tak to stand, and took the seat. Tak walked over to her mother and looked up at her with a blank expression.

"Tak," Zie began. "I assumed you would stay on the _Rapture _like I told you to."

"Yes, you did," Tak commented. "But I didn't."

Zie just smiled while Zim adjusted their course to speed to the downed _Rapture._

_Two hours later, literally on top of the _Rapture_…_

"Thank you for the information, Dib. Now, we can finally get started," Pepper said. The _Rapture_ continued to bob slightly while calm waves lapped at the sides of the ship. A crowd was gathered on top of the _Rapture_; their ships were stationary on top of the downed vessel. Lard Nar and the Resisty, Dib, Mint, Tak, Zim, GIR, MiMi, assorted members of the ragtag resistance, as well as Quentin and Zie standing in front of all of them with Pepper directly behind them.

Pepper cleared her throat. "We are gathered here today in the sight of God – which is really rather creepy," she added suspiciously, eyeing the immediate area around her. Dib, who was standing next to her, coughed.

"Um, right!" Pepper said. "You're all here to witness the 'marriage', and stuff, of Captain Quentin, leader of the United Irken Resistance, and this downright goddess. Who knows why she wants to marry him…" she added with a dark chuckle.

Everyone clapped politely.

"So, Quentin, do you take Zie to be married to you and stuff?" Pepper asked, glancing at Quentin.

"Yes," Quentin replied.

"Pfft." Pepper rolled her eyes. "You _would_. Zie, do you take Quentin to be married to _you…_ and stuff?"

"Yes," Zie said with a wide, dangerously sharp smile.

"Well, now you're married," Pepper stated. "Good for you. I sure wish we had some drinks."

Zie took Quentin by surprise and kissed him while everyone clapped, a bit louder this time.

Pepper sighed and walked with Dib over to Mint, Tak, MiMi, and – of course – GIR. "What a silly Earth ritual," Pepper muttered dismissively.

"I thought it was cute," Mint said happily.

Dib cleared his throat expectantly.

"Oh, good, the javelin-haired cool guy is gonna preach to us," Pepper said flatly.

"You know, I'd like to go home now," Dib said quietly.

"What? To Earth?" Mint asked.

"Yeah," Dib said. "Y'know… it's really interesting out here in space, and it does prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm not crazy, but I kind of forgot to… bring film… for my camera."

Zim stared at him.

"What?" Dib asked.

Zim began to emit a horrible, straining choking sound.

"Are you okay?"

Zim burst into laughter, pointing at Dib. Tak began to laugh as well.

"Stop… stop laughing at me," Dib demanded.

Now Mint was giggling, and even Pepper was failing at suppressing her own laughter.

"Quit it!"

Tak sighed. "You know, Dib, when I first saw you, I thought you were one of the only smart humans. And I was right."

Dib grinned.

"But, you're still pretty stupid," she finished.

Dib frowned. "You know, I think you're a pretty mean person."

Tak shrugged. She glanced at Zim. "Zim, I just realized something."

"_Hmm_?" Zim asked.

"Yeah, where are we going to go?"

Zim cocked his head. "What?"

"Well, you know. Where are we going to live?" Tak asked. "I had the notion that the whole 'resistance' thing was going to last for decades instead of weeks, and I'm definitely not going to move in with my parents!"

"Mhm, mhm…" Zim said, nodding his head. "Hmm."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Pepper said. "You're telling me that you two… are going to move in… _together? With one another?_"

Tak nodded.

"I'm not a fan of this idea," Pepper said, shaking her head. "Mint and I are going to have to accompany you, wherever you decide to go."

"You know, you could come back to Earth," Dib suggested.

Mint giggled. "You mean you _want_ your worst enemy, the would-be destroyer of your entire homeworld to… to come _back_?"

"There is no Irken Empire anymore," Dib said wisely. "And Zim's actually the only person – er, alien – that doesn't think I'm crazy." Dib extended his right hand in Zim's direction.

"What?" Zim asked, looking at Dib's hand as if it were an over-affectionate porcupine.

"It's called a handshake. You know," Dib said.

Zim reluctantly clasped his hand, and shook it. "Shaking hands with your worst enemy – with ideas like that, Dib, I would've won in the end."

"Yeah, yeah," Dib muttered.

Pepper clucked her tongue. "Gee. Humans might not be the smartest, but they might just be the most noble."

"Cool story, Pepper," Mint noted. "We're going to Earth! Woo!"

Suddenly, a jingle began to play.

_Beepity-beep-beep, beep-beep-beep-BEEP!_

Everyone turned and looked for the source of the tinny music, and it seemed to be coming from Zie's PAK.

"Congratulations, **CAPTAIN ZIE**. You have been selected for duty as the Almighty Tallest of the Irken Empire," the PAK chirped. Confetti flew out of the PAK and fluttered to the deck with another cheerful-sounding jingle.

Zie flashed another sickeningly sharp smile, and began to laugh maniacally. "Finally. _Finally, _my time has _come!_" she screeched, falling to her knees. "Yes, yes, _yes!_"

_Beepity-beep-beep, beep-beep-beep-BEEP!_

Everyone looked around confusedly for the source of the next jingle, even Zie.

"Congratulations, **ENEMY OF THE STATE QUENTIN**. You have been selected for duty as the Almighty Tallest of the Irken Empire," Quentin's PAK chirped in a manner identical to Zie's. Confetti flew out of his PAK, too. The jingle played again.

"Guess they didn't expect an 'enemy of the state' to be tall," Quentin said sheepishly, to which the crowd laughed.

Zie stood up and brushed herself off coolly. "We're the same height, aren't we?"

Quentin nodded with a grin so sincere that Zie absolutely had to smile along with him.

_In the capital city of Irk…_

14/09/87 – At 13:09 PAC Intergalactic Time, all of the advertisement signs and news devices on Irk and the imperial planets displayed this message that repeated for one week:

**THE ALMIGHTY TALLEST ARE DEAD.**

**THE SINS OF THE IRKEN EMPIRE CAN NEVER TRULY DISAPPEAR, BUT THEY WILL NEVER BE REPEATED.**

**THE UNITED IRKEN RESISTANCE HAS SUCCEEDED IN LIBERATING THE GOOD PEOPLE OF THE EMPIRE, ITS PLANETS, AND ITS COLONIES.**

**NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN ANY NATION CONQUERED BY THE EMPIRE AND THE NEW IRKEN REPUBLIC WILL BE ACCEPTED ONCE THE GREAT ALMIGHTY TALLEST ZIE AND QUENTIN HAVE SECURED LEADERSHIP OVER THE FORMER IRKEN EMPIRE, AND THE NEW IRKEN COUNCIL OF THE REPUBLIC HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED.**

**THIS MESSAGE WILL NOW REPEAT.**

**[Author's Note: Don't worry; there will be an epilogue that will be up by the time you read this chapter. However, I want you to review this chapter before reading the next one. Hard, I know.**

**Tell me what you liked; tell me what you didn't like, but most of all, tell me.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this story. It's been great. Hell, it still **_**is**_** great. I've had more fun with this story than any other story I've written, and if you, the all-important reader, enjoyed it, then it was a success.**

**So, tell me:**

**Did you?**

**~ClockwerkOrange]**


	25. Beyond the Sea

**[Author's Note:**

**For the epilogue, I suggest listening to the song "If I Were a Bird" from the Code Geass Soundtrack. Actually, I order you to do so. If you do not listen to that song – which is the song that I listened to while writing this epilogue – and you listen to another song instead, I will not be held responsible for the sheer amount of song/reading material conflict that may ensue. Listen to the one WITHOUT the lyrics.**

**~ClockwerkOrange]**

Tak straightened her purple striped shirt while her legs dangled off of the side of the dock.

"Does it remind you of Nennius?" Zim asked.

Tak stared into the deep blue water. "I guess."

They sat in silence there, side by side, looking off into the red horizon.

"Coming here was a good idea, Zim. I'm glad we did," she said.

Zim glanced over at Tak, who was still absorbed in the sunset. "Yeah."

Tak looked at him for a few seconds after he had lowered her eyes, and she laughed.

Zim frowned. "What?"

"I'm sorry, but your disguise is terrible," Tak said.

"Thank you," Zim replied. "It's strange how different you look in yours. Still similar, though, in a weird way."

"Yes, I suppose," Tak agreed.

"So, do you want to g-…"

Tak threw her arms around Zim, and kissed him.

"Oi, lovebirds, do you want to play some 'vaul-lee-ball' or what?" Pepper shouted from the beach, about twenty feet from where they were.

Tak let Zim drop, and he fell backward, PAK clattering against the wood of the dock.

"Alright!" Tak yelled back. "We'll be there in just a minute!"

Tak let herself fall backward next to Zim. "So, Zim, do you think coming back to Earth was a good idea?"

"Yes, I do," Zim said breathlessly.

"I'm glad," Tak said, and rested her head on Zim's shoulder. "I'm really, really glad."

_End._

_~ClockwerkOrange_


End file.
